GIFT  OF 

J.  Burt. 


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cc  „  JKKrJ 


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BARLEY    WOOD-HE   RIS'.OLMCt  O!    '!lf    lATt    HANNAH    MOR! 


E    W      "Y    O   R   K 


NEW    M  B  M  O  I 


HANNAH    MORE; 


iu  13nll  nub  A 


BY 

MRS.   HELEN  C.  KNIGHT. 


OF   THE  X 

UNIVERSITY  \ 
^CALUOR^iV^ 

NEW    YORK: 
PUBLISHED    BY    M.     W.    DODD, 

BRICK  CHURCH  CHAPEL,  CITY  HALL  SQUARE, 

(OPPOSITE     T  H  K    CITY    HALL.) 

1851. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1850, 

BY    M  .    W.    D  O  D  D  , 
Tn  the  Clerk's  Otlice  of  the  Southern  Distrct  of  New  York. 


STEXKOTYPED    BY    THOMAS    B.    SMITH, 
210   WJLUAM    STREKT,    N.  Y. 


J 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 
EARLY    LIFE, 9 


CHAPTER  II. 

INTRODUCTION    TO    LONDON    SOCIETY,  ....         22 

CHAPTER  III. 

A    PEEP    AT    THE    ELITES, 38 

CHAPTER  IV. 

LITERARY    BLOSSOMINGS, 48 

CHAPTER  V. 

DEATH    OF    GARRICK — ON    THEATRICAL    AMUSEMENTS,  66 

CHAPTER  VI. 

CORRESPONDENCE, 77 

CHAPTER  VII. 

COWSLIP   GREEN,  .  .          97 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

PAGE 

FIRST    FRUITS, 110 

CHAPTER  IX. 

LABORS   AMONG    THE    POOR SUNDAY    SCHOOLS,  .  .124 

CHAPTER  X. 

NEWTON    IN    SORROW MENDIP     FEAST,     ....       148 

CHAPTER  XL 

WILL   CHIP    AND    HIS    BRETHREN,        .  .  .  .       163 

CHAPTER  XII. 

TRIALS    AND    OPPOSITION, 183 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

BARLEY    WOOD, 211 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

FALLING    LEAVES, 224 

CHAPTER  XV. 

GOLDEN    HARVEST,    ........      258 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

PASSING    AWAY, 286 


PREFACE. 


IT  has  been  written,  "  that  the  world's  wealth 
is  its  original  men ;  by  these  and  their  works,  it 
is  a  world  and  not  a  waste  :  the.  memory  and  rec 
ord  of  what  men  it  bore — this  is  the  sum  of  its 
strength,  its  'sacred  property'  forever,  whereby 
it  upholds  itself  and  steers  forward,  better  or 
worse,  through  the  yet  undiscovered  deep  of  time. 

"  Science  itself,  is  it  not,  under  one  of  its  most 
interesting  aspects,  Biography  ?  Is  it  not  the  rec 
ord    of  the    work,   which  an    original    man,    still 
named  by  us  or  not  named,  was   blessed  by  the . 
heavens  to  do  ?" 

May  it  not  be  also  said,  that  the  wealth  of  the 
Church  is  her  godly  men,  her  holy  women,  her 
ransomed  little  ones  ?  Are  not  the  record  and 
memory  of  their  self-denial  and  suffering,  their 
patient  waiting,  and  cheerful  courage,  their  faith 


VI  V  R  E  F  A  C  E. 

and  love,  her  richest  legacies  and  dearest  treas 
ures  ?  By  these  is  the  world  an  Eden  and  not 
a  waste ;  by  these  is  the  Church  the  true  vino 
and  not  a  withered  branch ;  a  living  epistle  and 
not  a  dead  letter ;  the  memory  and  record  of 
what  Christian  men  and  women  it  bore — this  is 
the  sum  of  her  strength,  her  "  sacred  property" 
forever. 

Christianity  itself,  is  it  not  under  one  of  its  most 
interesting  aspects,  biography  ?  Is  it  not  the  rec 
ord  of  the  work,  which  a  God-man  was  blessed  by 
the  heavens  to  do  ?  Have  not  its  doctrines  been 
unfolded  by  the  lives  and  labors  of  its  eminent 
disciples  ? 

In  this  view,  what  meaning  is  there  in  the 
Christian  life,  whenever  bearing  "  precious  fruit," 
within  the  cottage  or  the  hall,  in  the  little  child 
patiently  bearing  its  weary  load  for  Christ's  sake, 
or  in  those  holy  and  devout  ones,  whose  faith  sub 
dued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness,  and  hav 
ing  obtained  a  good  report,  have  gone  to  receive 
their  great  recompense  of  reward. 

Herein  is  the  beauty  and  excellency  of  the  life 
of  this  eminent  servant  of  God,  Hannah  More. 

Among  the  household  memories,  if  not  among 


PREFACE.  Vll 

the  nursery  rhymes  of  many  in  middle  life,  she  is 
less  known  to  a  great  multitude  of  the  young,  who 
are  just  entering  upon  the  duties,  the  responsibili 
ties,  and  conflicts  of  the  Christian  life,  and  for 
them  is  this  sketch  prepared.  If  there  is  a  ten 
dency  in  the  Church,  as  some  fear,  to  consult 
worldly  advantages  more  than  Christ's  require 
ments,  to  be  content  with  a  weak  faith  and  feeble 
hopes,  instead  of  the  warm,  large,  generous  love 
which  inspired  the  apostles  of  old,  and  eminent 
saints  of  later  time,  to  rest  satisfied  with  only  a 
name  to  live,  instead  of  bringing  forth  fruits  meet 
for  repentance,  let  us  turn  back  and  study  the 
characters  of  those  whose  lips  and  lives  most  elo 
quently  expressed  the  holy  gospel  they  professed. 
Let  us  inquire  what  doctrines  they  believed,  what 
principles  they  adopted,  what  duties  they  dis 
charged,  what  labors  they  undertook,  what  amuse 
ments  they  forsook ;  in  a  word,  let  us  seek  to  find 
out  their  apprehension  of  Bible  truth,  and  how 
also  the  Bible  shaped  their  views,  moulded  their 
characters,  and  fitted  them  for  usefulness.  Han 
nah  More  presents  one  of  the  most  complete  mod 
els  of  Christian  character ;  her  life  is  a  beautiful 
development  of  that  healthy,  vigorous,  life-giving, 


Vlll  P  R,  E  F  A  O  R. 

and  heart-warming  piety,  which  springs  from  the 
distinguishing  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  cordially  be 
lieved  and  faithfully  acted  upon.  Let  every  Amer 
ican  woman  study  her  biography.  It  is  a  legacy 
left  for  our  benefit ;  a  portrait  for  our  contem 
plation  ;  an  example  to  imitate  ;  a  token  for  en 
couragement  and  hope ;  an  earnest  of  that  ful 
ness  in  Christ  Jesus,  "  if  we  do  show  the  same 
diligence  to  the  full  assurance  of  hope  unto  the 
end,  that  we  be  not  slothful,  but  followers  of  them 
who  through  faith  and  patience  inherit  the  prom 
ises." 


/OF     tHK 
x  TJNIVERSITT 

x^ir 


CHAPTER    I. 


LET  us  visit  the  retired  hamlet  of  Fishponds  ;  it  is  in  the 
parish  of  Stapleton,  four  miles  from  Bristol,  and  possesses 
all  the  quiet  and  homely  comfort  of  rural  life  in  England. 
Among  the  humble  homes  of  the  hamlet,  stands  that  of 
the  Dominie,  Mr.  Jacob  More,  a  man  of  piety  and  learning, 
who,  though  bred  to  larger  expectations  and  an  ampler  in 
heritance^  is  the  faithful  and  contented  master  of  the  parish 
school,  the  happy  husband  of  his  excellent  Mary,  the 
proud  father  of  five  little  girls,  and  the  thankful  proprietor 
of  valuable  stock  in  domestic  peace  and  enjoyment.  He  is 
a  devoted  member  of  the  English  Church,  and  a  loyal  sub 
ject  of  good  King  George.  The  over-cast  fortunes  of  his 
early  days,  and  the  mansion  and  estates  of  Wenhaston 
wrested  from  him  in  a  suit  at  law,  are  well-nigh  forgotten 
amid  the  manifold  cares  and  busy  interests  of  family  rear 
ing.  Besides  leading  a  flock  of  village  urchins  to  nibble  in 


10  HANNAH     MOKE. 

the  green  pastures  of  knowledge,  his  five  little  girls  follow 
the  same  friendly  crook,  and  in  their  training,  he  beholds 
the  buds  and  blossoms,  as  he  hopes  to  realize  the  fruit,  of 
his  professional  skill  and  parental  fidelity. 

With  more  enlarged  views  of  female  education  than 
were  common  an  hundred  years  ago,  when  external  ac 
complishments  were  principally  aimed  at,  good  Mr.  More, 
though  not  without  a  certain  horror  for  a  learned  lady, 
determined  to  strengthen  the  minds  of  his  daughters  by  a 
thorough  course  of  study,  and  to  enlarge  their  range  of 
thought  by  well-selected  reading :  his  object  was  to  fit 
them  for  usefulness,  in  whatever  sphere  the  Providence  of 
God  might  direct  their  steps. 

The  home  influences  which  surrounded  this  band  of 
sisters  were  the  purest  and  the  best:  not  harassed  by 
poverty,  or  stricken  by  luxury,  but  surrounded  by  the 
steady,  yet  gentle,  pressure  of  ever  doing,  they  were  early 
taught  the  wonderful  power  of  the  "  diligent  hand  ;"  away 
from  the  fevered  excitements,  and  fashionable  trickery  of 
city  life,  they  only  knew  life  through  the  simple  and  frugal 
habits  of  their  parents,  enriched  and  beautified  by  the  clear 
sense  and  devout  spirit  of  their  mother,  and  by  the  classic 
tastes  and  well-stored  mind  of  their  father.  There  also, 
was  the  English  culture,  which  every  English  child  sucks 


EARLY     DAYS.  11 

as  from  its  mother's  milk,  veneration  for  the  time-worn  and 
time-honored  institutions  of  his  fathers  ;  the  warm  glow 
of  loyal  affection  clustering  and  centering  around  a  royal 
household,  the  obedient  heart  doing  homage  to  the  lofty 
prerogatives  of  priestly  power,  joy  and  pride  over  his 
English  soil  dotted  all  over  with  monuments  of  historic 
truth  and  great  men's  doings.  Those  elements  which 
shape  the  national  character,  and  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree  mark  and  strengthen  the  individual  influence,  are 
perhaps  modified  since  an  hundred  years  ago,  although 
they  must  ever  exercise  a  strong  and  decided  influence 
over  every  true-born  English  child. 

As  the  sisters  passed  from  infancy  to  childhood,  from 
childhood  to  maidenhood,  the  daily  discipline  of  reading 
and  grammar,  of  Latin  and  mathematics,  was  diversified 
and  relieved  by  household  labors  and  rural  exercises. 

To  the  studies,  which  fell  within  Mr.  More's  own  prov 
ince,  he  wished  to  add  that  of  the  French  language,  and 
for  this  purpose,  when  Mary,  the  eldest,  was  twelve,  she 
went  three  times  a  week  to  Bristol  to  receive  lessons  from 
the  most  approved  instructors,  in  order  to  fit  her  to  be 
come  the  teacher  of  her  younger  sisters  :  through  hot 
and  cold,  through  wet  and  dry,  with  a  resolution  which 
ever  afterward  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  traits  in  her 


OF   THF. 

UNFSTi. 


12  HANNAH      MORE. 

character,  Mary  More  trod  unweariedly  her  solitary  four 
miles'  walk,  studying  with  unflinching  earnestness  until 
she  became  a  thorough  master  of  the  French,  and  spoke 
it  with  the  fluency  and  elegance  of  a  native. 
.  While  the  eldest  daughter  was  thus  toiling  up  the  hill 
of  knowledge,  Elizabeth,  next  her  in  age,  was  busy  by  her 
mother's  side,  plying  the  needle,  turning  the  wheel,  or 
adding  to  family  comfort  through  the  thousand  unseen 
channels  of  simple  duties  and  little  kindnesses. 

Then  came  Sarah,  brimful  of  wit  and  humor,  Avhose 
quaint  sayings  and  lively  answers  were  the  delight  of  her 
companions,  and  often  provoked  a  smile  from  the  Dom 
inie  in  his  gravest  and  most  thoughtful  moods. 

Having  lost  a  valuable  portion  of  his  library  on  his 
mournful  pilgrimage  from  the  paternal  estate,  Mr.  More 
was  constrained  to  teach  history  in  the  more  animated 
style  of  conversation  and  story;  and  his  own  interest  in 
Grecian  sages  and  Roman  heroes  was  revived  and  quick 
ened  by  the  bright  eyes  and  earnest  glance  of  his  fourth 
little  one,  ever  first  on  her  father's  knee,  listening  with  a 
glowing  face  to  the  wonderful  recitals  which  fell  from  his 
lips.  While  still  regarded  as  "  the  little  one,"  and  long- 
before  she  was  thought  worthy  of  the  paternal  teaching, 
the  delighted  parents  were  surprised  to  find  her  reading 


EARLY      DAYS.  13 

with  intelligence  and  fluency,  having  slipped  through  the 
long  apprenticeship  of  syllables  and  spelling,  they  hardly 
knew  when,  or  how. 

The  little  one  had  no  mind  to  wait  the  slow  notice  of 
her  elders.  She  learned  while  they  spake  one  to  another, 
as  it  were,  from  the  droppings  which  fell  unawares  upon 
her  eager  and  panting  spirit ;  a  scrap  of  paper  and  an 
old  pen  are  among  her  baby-house  treasures ;  in  rude 
characters  she  attempts  to  put  down  the  thoughts  which 
spring  up  abundantly  within  her  little  bosom.  Before 
her  father's  door  was  the  high  road  which  leadeth  to  the 
great  city,  Bristol,  with  its  manifold  and  far-off  wonders  ; 
the  child,  perhaps,  often  sits  and  ponders  whence  it 
comes  and  whither  it  g*oes,  eagerly  watching  the  heavy 
carts,  or  the  pillion  equestrians  as  they  occasionally  pass 
and  repass, — each  suggesting  a  new  fancy,  or  pleasing  won 
der  ;  as  she  ponders,  she  writes  dainty  thoughts.  Behold, 
the  little  child  of  four  years  is  a  rhymer — perhaps  a 
poet ! — 

"  This  is  the  road  to  a  great  city 
Which  is  more  populous  than  witty," 

is  all  that  survives  of  this,  her  earliest  essay,  through  the 
long  lapse  of  years.  Beside  the  poem,  her  fourth  year 
has  other  marvels  for  expectant  and  loving  kindred.  The 


14  HANNAH      MORE. 

village  curate  awards  her  sixpence  for  catechism  lessons 
well  learned  and  perfectly  recited : — her  first  earned  six 
pence,  her  own  sixpence — how  rich  is  the  little  one ! — 
rich  in  the  curate's  approval  and  fatherly  hopes !  rich  in 
promise !  Such  were  the  first  laurels  of  the  Dominie's 
fourth,  Hannah  More,  born  in  the  year  1745. 

Her  father,  delighted  with  the  dawning  abilities  of  the 
child,  soon  began  to  teach  her  his  favorite  Latin ; 
amazed  at  her  rapid  progress,  he  abandoned  the  work, 
lest  Hannah  should  grow  up  a  pedant;  this,  however, 
he  willingly  resumed,  not  long  after,  at  the  entreaty  of  the 
child,  seconded  by  the  persuasions  of  the  mother.  The 
little  Hannah  was  henceforth  permitted  to  read,  study  and 
write,  as  her  fancy  led ;  her  scribblings  were  of  divers 
sorts  and  kinds ;  poems,  essays,  and  stories  issued  from 
her  pen,  and  were  stored  away  to  be  read  or  recited  to 
her  sisters,  whose  encouragement  and  interest  at  that 
early  age,  fostered  and  improved  her  'taste. 

Patty  was  the  youngest  of  the  flock,  loving  and  joy 
ous,  never  jealous  of  the  opening  powers  of  her  sister, 
for  whom  her  admiration  was  only  equalled  by  her  warm 
sisterly  love. 

As  the  family  grew  up,  its  increasing  wants  outran  its 
straitened  means,  when  the  elder  sisters  proposed  to 


EARLY      DAYS.  15 

follow  the  profession  of  their  father,  and  try  the  experi 
ment  of  a  new  boarding-school  in  the  neighboring  city. 

Warm  friends,  who  knew  their  worth,  seconded  the 
plan,  and  offered  their  patronage  and  influence :  among 
their  patrons  was  Mrs.  Gwatkin,  a  lady  of  worth  and  high 
position,  who  then  little  dreamed  that  through  the 
friendly  aid  she  rendered  to  this  band  of  teachers,  her 
own  name  should  be  handed  to  generations  yet  to  come. 
The  family  circle  was  now  broken  up.  Mary,  Elizabeth, 
and  Sarah  left  the  paternal  roof  to  try  their  fortunes  in 
the  great  world  :  the  school  was  opened ;  scholars  flocked 
to  this  fold,  and  the  first  year  confirmed  their  hopes .  and 
encouraged  farther  efforts.  With  what  solicitude  and 
pride  must  the  father  have  watched  their  progress  in  the 
same  ordeal  of  daily  struggles,  in  which  he  had  already 
become  a  veteran ;  and  when  at  last  at  the  age  of  twelve 
he  suffered  the  little  Hannah  to  escape  from  his  nest,  and 
become  a  pupil  in  the  now  prosperous  school,  he  gave 
the  strongest  proof  which  a  father  could  give,  of  confi 
dence  in,  and  respect  for  the  abilities  of  his  daughters  for 
their  new  and  responsible  situation. 

What  a  world  of  interest  opened  upon  the  gifted  girl 
in  the  wider  sphere  of  study  and  observation,  in  the  di 
versity  of  character,  in  the  new  friendships  and  associa- 


Iti  HANNAH      MORE. 

tions,  in  the  competitions  and  struggles  of  school  life  in 
the  city.  The  green  banks,  the  shady  groves  and  soft 
quiet  of  Stapleton,  gave  place  to  the  stirring  and  endless 
passing  to  and  fro  of  people,  of  scenes,  of  labors :  what 
a  quickening  of  thought !  what  incitements  and  stimulas  ! 
She  was  not  among  strangers  who,  caring  not,  crowded 
her  mind,  or  cramped  her  heart ;  she  was  not  a  stray 
lamb  in  a  strange  fold,  but  affection  still  folded  her  in 
its  bosom,  defending  her  from  harmful  flatteries,  and  re 
joicing  in  her  opening  and  maturing  powers.  Her  pro 
gress  was  brilliant  and  rapid,  reflecting  honor  upon  the 
school,  and  attracting  the  attention  of  some  of  the  most 
cultivated  minds  in  the  city.  Sir  James  Stonehouse,  a 
friend  and  patron  of  her  sisters,  whose  writings  for  the 
spiritual  benefit  of  the  sick  have  been  extensively  circulated 
in  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  be 
came  deeply  interested  in  her  welfare ;  he  took  every 
opportunity  of  cultivating  the  young  girl's  friendship,  and 
while  yet  a  pupil,  predicted  her  distinguished  career. 

Beside  Sir  James,  Dr.  Tucker,  afterwards  Dean  of 
Gloucestershire,  Mr.  Peach,  a  man  of  extensive  reading 
and  fine  taste,  and  Ferguson,  the  astronomer,  then  lee 
turing  at  Bristol,  sought  her  society  with  delight,  and 
were  reckoned  among « her  warmest  friends.  So  great, 


F,  A  ft  L  Y      DAY  S.  17 

at  that  early  period,  were  the  charms  of  her  conversation, 
that  Dr.  Woodward,  her  physician,  a  man  of  some  emi 
nence  in  his  time,  is  said  one  day  altogether  to  have 
forgotten  she  was  his  patient,  while  she  regaled  his  ear 
with  strains  it  seemed  a  privilege  to  hear,  until  half  way 
down  stairs,  he  suddenly  recollected  himself,  exclaiming, 
"  Bless  me !  I  forgot  to  ask  the  girl  how  she  was !" 
while  he  hastened  back  to  her  chamber  to  make  the 
necessary  inquiries. 

Hannah's  literary  tastes  showed  themselves  in  her  pas 
times,  as  well  as  in  her  graver  pursuits,  for  we  learn  that 
a  favorite  play  at  one  time  among  herself  and  companions, 
was  the  gathering  of  little  parties,  where  the  talk  should 
be  wholly  sustained  in  the  language  of  Shakspeare,  and 
"it  was  surprising,"  she  said  iti  after  days,  "how  well 
the  conversation  was  kept  up."  It  must  be  remembered 
that  children's  literature  had  then  no  existence ;  the 
Parent's  Assistant,  Sanford  and  Merton,  Harry  and  Lucy, 
books  which  a  few  years  afterward  delighted  and  quick 
ened  the  minds  of  the  young,  had  not  then  appeared,  nor 
had  Mrs.  Barbauld,  or  Mrs.  Trimmer,  yet  employed  their 
pens  in  the  juvenile  department,  at  once  so  unambitious 
and  yet  so  useful  and  important.  Children  read  then — if 

they  read  at  all — books  which  their  elders  read  and  lovecl, 
2* 


18  HANNAH      MORE. 

and  Shakspeare,  it  seems,  must  have  been  among  the 
choice  reading  of  young  Hannah  More :  this  unwonted 
appreciation  of,  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  his  writ 
ings,  was  the  means  of  imparting  to  one  of  her  earliest 
journeys  a  zest  and  enjoyment  which  few,  -at  her  early 
age,  could  have  been  supposed  to  feel. 

In  company  with  some  friends,  she  visited  Stratford- 
upon-the-Avon,  the  birth-place  of  the  immortal  and 
world-renowned  poet,  and  brought  away  a  branch  of  the 
mulberry-tree  growing  in  his  garden,  said  to  have  been 
planted  by  his  own  hand ;  this  she  had  wrought  into 
sugar-tongs  and  presented  to  Mrs.  Gwatkin,  with  the 
verse — 

"  I  kissed  the  sacred  shrine  where  Shakspeare  lay, 
And  bore  this  relic  of  my  bard  away  : 
Where  shall  I  place  it,  Phoebus  ? — where  'tis  due, 
Apollo  answered  :  and  I  send  it — you." 

At  seventeen  a  small  work  issued  from  her  pen,  en 
titled  "  The  Search  after  Happiness,"  a  pastoral  drama, 
which,  with  an  ever-grateful  sense  of  Mrs.  Gwatkin's  kind 
ness  to  her  family,  she  dedicated  to  that  lady.  Acting 
plays  was  at  that  time  one  branch  of  boarding-school  in 
struction,  and  this  was  written  to  take  the  place  of  those, 


EARLY      PAYS.  19 

of  which  class  there  were  not  a  few,  not  always  inculcating 
the  purest  sentiments,  or  the  most  exalted  character :  how 
ever  well  it  may  have  answered  its  purpose,  and  however 
great  its  literary  merits  were  then  regarded  by  admiring 
and  expectant  friends,  it  can  hardly  now  be  considered 
prophetic  of  anything  but  the  high  moral  aim  which  it 
was  the  tendency  of  her  maturer  efforts  to  inculcate  and 
to  enforce. 

Unexpected  success  had  crowned  the  efforts  of  the 
sisters :  the  faithful  and  judicious  management  of  the 
home  department,  together  with  the  superior  course  of 
instruction  given  in  the  school,  gave  it  a  deservedly  high 
position  in  the  community,  and  attracted  pupils  from  the 
most  distant  parts  of  the  kingdom.  The  sisters  deter 
mined  now  to  enlarge  their  domain,  and  for  this  purpose 
they  planned  and  built  a  large  and  commodious  house 
in  Park-street,  where,  notwithstanding  their  ampler  ac 
commodations,  twice  the  number  of  applicants  appeared 
than  could  possibly  be  admitted. 

Nor  were  they  unmindful  of  the  comfort,  and  increas 
ing  infirmities  of  their  now  only  remaining  parent.  Mr, 
More,  bereft  of  his  family,  was  by  their  filial  love  re 
moved  to  a  pleasant  house  in  the  city,  and  provided 
with  two  female  servants  to  attend  him,  where  he  passed 


20  HANNAH      MORE. 

a  green  old  age,  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  garden,  his 
library,  his  friends,  and,  above  all,  the  daily  visits  and 
delightful  companionship  of  his  five  excellent  daughters. 

After  having  completed  her  studies  as  pupil,  Hannah 
retained  her  connection  in  the  school  as  teacher.  Be 
loved  and  respected  in  no  common  degree,  the  younger 
sisters  were  often  invited  by  their  pupils  to  visit  their 
homes  during  the  vacation  recesses.  They  were,  at  this 
time,  on  an  intimate  footing  with  the  Misses  Turner,  two 
older  members  of  the  school,  and  were  often  invited  to 
accompany  them  to  Belmont,  the  residence  of  their  cousin, 
Edward  Turner,  Esq.,  six  miles  from  Bristol.  The  fine 
taste  and  cultivated  mind  of  Hannah  made  a  strong  im 
pression  on  the  host,  who  delighted  to  consult  her  in  his 
projected  improvements,  and  followed  her  suggestions  in 
many  of  the  embellishments  made  at  this  time  on  his 
estate ; — nor  did  she  fail  to  find  themes  for  her  muse  in 
the  shady  nooks  and  green  winding  ways  of  beautiful 
Belmont.  On  the  summit  of  a  hill  reached  by  a  steep 
and  rugged  path  through  the  woods,  in  whose  deep  se 
clusion  we  may  suppose  she  sometimes  loved  to  linger, 
there  remained,  long  after  her  death,  a  board  over-written 
with  a  little  poem,  to  inspire  the  weary  pilgrim  with 
hope  and  resolution  through  his  tedious  and  rugged 


EARLYDAYS.  21 

way,  suggested  by  the  nature  of  the  scenery  around  her. 
In  erecting  a  monument  to  a  departed  friend,  Mr.  Turner 
was  indebted  to  his  guest  for  the  inscription  it  bears, 
and  which  afterward  appeared  in  her  works  under  the 
title  "  Inscription  on  a  Cenotaph,"  and  it  is  no  matter 
of  surprise,  that  one  so  fitted  to  sympathize  with  him  in 
his  tastes  and  pursuits,  should  have  engaged  his  affection, 
and,  for  a  time,  at  least,  have  wooed  him  from,  his  love 
of  single  life.  Thoujjh  twice  her  ao*e,  for  Hannah  was 

O  O  »        O     * 

now  nearly  twenty-two,  he  sought  her  hand ;  the  suit 
was  favorably  regarded,  and  the  bridal  preliminaries  were 
completed,  when  the  current  of  true  love,  not  always 
smoothly  flowing,  drifted  them  apart,  and  sundered  the 
tie ;  nor  does  it  appear  that  Hannah  ever  afterwards 
freighted  her  bark  on  the  same  dangerous  element. 

The  gentleman  never  ceased  to  regard  her  with  respect 
and  interest,  and  his  first  toast  every  day,  whether  alone, 
or  in  society,  ever  was  "  Hannah  More.5'  In  after  years, 
their  long-suspended  intercourse  was  renewed,  and  con 
tinued  with  the  utmost  cordiality  until  his  death,  when 
he  bequeathed  to  her  a  thousand  pounds.  There  are  no 
tearful  regrets  to  bestow  over  this  severed  tie,  for  Mrs. 
Turner  might  have  deprived  the  world  of  the  brilliant 
career  and  valuable  services  of  Miss  Hannah  More.  She 


22  H  A  N  N  A  II      MORE. 

afterwards  received  an  offer  of  marriage  from  Dr.  Lang- 
horne,  vicar  of  Blagdon,  author  of  several  works,  a  man 
of  lively  wit  and  cultivated  intellect,  with  whom  she  be 
came  acquainted  while  in  quest  of  health  and  strength  on 
the  coast  of  Somersetshire.  Behold  her  on  the  beach, 
sometimes  on  a  pillion  behind  her  servant,  sometimes  ac- 
coutered  for  a  walk  in  company  with  the  Doctor,  some 
times  surrounded  by  a  group  of  admiring  friends,  drawn 
thither  by  the  charms  of  her  brilliant  and  animated  con 
versation.  Though  a  rejected  suitor,  the  Doctor  main 
tained  a  poetical  and  literary  correspondence  with  the 
lady  until  his  death,  which  took  place  in  the  prime  of 
manhood,  although  not  before  his  usefulness  had  become 
blighted  by  irregularities  and  misfortune. 

Thus  far  have  we  caught  passing  glimpses  of  Hannah 
More  in  the  dear  seclusion  of  her  birth-place,  the  busy 
retreat  of  her  sisters'  school,  and  the  agreeable  circle  of 
Bristol  society,  where  her  simple  manners,  her  good  sense, 
and  the  unaffected  friendliness  of  her  heart,  gave  an 
added  lustre  to  those  brilliant  powers  and  that  ready  wit, 
which,  afterwards,  made  her  a  welcome  and  honored 
guest  in  the  most  elegant  and  refined  circles  of  the  me 
tropolis.  How  much  is  there  in  her  early  life  of  which 
the  few  and  scanty  records  that  remain,  fail  to  inform 


EARLY      DAYS.  23 

us !  How  many  an  earnest  mother  would  rend  the  veil 
which  conceals  her  childhood  to  learn  the  secret  springs 
of  that  Christian  nurture,  which  enabled  her  to  pass 
imseduced  and  unscathed  through  the  trying  ordeal 
of  folly,  of  fashion,  and  of  fame  which  awaited  her. 
The  glitter  and  pomp  of  fashionable  life  never  seems  to 
have  dimmed  the  clearness  of  her  moral  vision,  or  pre 
vented  her  from  making  a  rational  estimate  of  its  maxims, 
habits,  and  pursuits;  there  ever  accompanied  her  an  in 
tegrity  of  moral  consciousness,  a  hidden  strength,  which 
stronger  than  breast-plate  or  shield,  defended  her  from  tho 
corrupting  influence  of  flattery,  and  enabled  her  to  main 
tain  that  singleness  and  purity  of  character,  and  to  foster 
those  religious  convictions  which  formed  the  beauty  and 
excellence  of  her  riper  years. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Sutruhutinit  tn  Inttfrnn  lii 


BRILLIANT  minds  centre  around  this  period  of  English 
literature.  The  splendid  diction  of  Burke  had  kindled  a 
fresh  glow  around  "  The  Sublime  and  Beautiful  ;"  the  De 
serted  Village  was  surrounded  by  ndmiring  groups  :  John 
son  fed  and  fattened  the  world  of  letters  from  the  store 
house  of  his  strong  and  affluent  mind  ;  Sir  Joshua  Rey 
nolds  was  in  the  zenith  of  his  popularity;  and  Garrick, 
the  enchanter  of  the  English,  ruled  the  stage. 

London  society  was  rife  with  genius,  wit,  and  learning  : 
the  famous  Blue  Stocking  Club  was  then  in  its  glory,  and 
its  accomplished  patrons  figured  in  the  most  elegant  and 
refined  circles  of  that  day.  This  gathering,  which  has 
unwittingly  given  a  name  of  implied  reproach  to  women 
of  literary  tastes  and  pursuits,  was  composed  of  persons 
distinguished  for  wit  and  talent,  who  met  at  each  other's 
houses,  without  ceremony  or  supper,  to  enjoy  the  charm 


INTRODUCTION     TO     LONDON     SOCIETY.          25 

of  each  other's  society,  without  the  interloping  aid  of  cards 
or  dancing,  as  we  learn  from  a  little  poem  entitled  the  Bas 
Bleu,  written  by  Hannah  More  a  few  years  after — 

"  Long  was  society  o'er  run 
By  Whist,  that  desecrating  Hun, 
Long  did  Quadrille  despotic  sit, 
That  Vandal  of  colloquial  wit, 
And  conversation's  setting  light 
Lay  deep  obscured  in  Gothic  night; 
At  length  the  mental  shades  decline ; 
Colloquial  wit  begins  to  shine ; 
Genius  prevails,  and  conversation 
Emerges  into  reformation." 

An  object  befitting  the  cultivated  minds  of  that  day,  when 
speech,  we  may  suppose  "  to  have  been  the  golden  harvest 
that  followed  the  flowing  of  thought :"  an  object  too  which 
it  might  not  be  amiss  to  revive,  if,  in  the  feverish  reading, 
and  rapid  flight  of  news,  people  can  pause  and  think ;  for, 
without  thought,  that  healthy  digestment  of  things  worthy 
to  be  known,  conversation  must  soon  lose  its  freshness  and 
originality,  and  degenerate  into  mere  news-telling  and 
literary  gossip. 

Among  the  admired  women  of  that  circle  ranks  Mrs. 

Elizabeth  Montagu,  who  acquired  much  celebrity  as  the 
3 


26  II  A  N  N  A  H      M  0  R  E. 

author  of  an  "Essay  on  the  Genius  of  Shakspeare,"  pub 
lished  in  1769,  of  which  Cowper  says,  "The  learning,  the 
good  sense,  the  sound  judgment,  and  the  wit  displayed  in 
it,  fully  justify,  not  only  my  compliment,  but  all  compli 
ments,  either  that  have  already  been  paid  to  her  talents, 
or  shall  be  paid  hereafter:"  but  while  the  Essay  which 
made  her  conspicuous  -to  her  contemporaries  has  passed 
away,  she  became  better  known  in  this  country  by  a 
volume  of  her  delightful  letters,  which  charmed  the  read 
ing  world  fifty  years  ago.  Beautiful  in  youth,  and  left  in 
possession  of  an  ample  fortune  at  the  death  of  her  hus 
band,  she  retained,  until  the  latest  period  of  life,  a  grace 
of  person  and  manner,  which  made  her  splendid  mansion 
at  Berkeley  Square  a  centre  of  the  most  polished  society  in 
the  metropolis.  By  her  side,  behold  Elizabeth  Carter, 
accounted  one  of  the  most  learned  ladies  of  her  time,  the 
long-loved  and  intimate  companion  of  Mrs.  Montagu.  At 
twenty-nine,  Dr.  Johnson,  whom  no  one  would  venture  to 
call  an  indiscriminate  admirer  of  the  sex,  in  a  fit  of  un 
usual  gallantry,  composed  a  Greek  epigram  to  her  praise ; 
and  she  was  almost  the  only  lady,  through  long  years  of 
intercourse,  whom  he  treated  with  uniform  attention  and 
civility.  For  the  encouragement  of  the  young,  who  are 
more  ready  to  question  their  abilities  than  to  exercise 


INTRODUCTION     TO     LONDON     SOCIETY.          27 

them,  and  for  the  benefit  of  teachers  who  are  impatient 
of  progress  which  they  are  not  faithful  enough  to  secure, 
let  it  be  added,  that  Mr.  Carter,  in  early  days  Elizabeth's 
instructor,  became  so  wearied  and  disheartened  by  the 
dulness  and  apparent  stupidity  of  his  daughter,  that  he 
abandoned  the  task  of  teaching  her,  while  she,  with  a 
resolution  which  nothing  could  quench,  continued  her 
studies  until  she  became  a  thorough  master  of  the  learned 
languages.  Dr.  Johnson,  in  speaking  of  a  celebrated  Greek 
scholar,  said  he  understood  Greek  better  than  anybody 
else,  except  Elizabeth  Carter :  the  Bible,  her  choicest  book, 
she  was  accustomed  to  read  in  Hebrew :  the  fishermen  of 
Deal,  her  place  of  residence  except  during  her  long  ab 
sences  at  London,  respectfully  regarded  her  as  the  almanac 
maker,  that  being  the  highest  conception  they  could  form 
of  the  abilities  and  power  of  their  distinguished  towns- 
woman.  Her  biography  may  be  found  in  some  of  our 
older  libraries,  together  with  "  Mrs.  Chapone's  Letters  to 
Young  Ladies,"  a  famous  book  in  its  day,  upon  which  the 
dust  of  years  has  already  gathered.  No  lady  could  afford 
to  be  without  its  wise  counsel  and  judicious  guidance : 
anxious  and  careful  mothers  gave  it  to  their  young  daugh 
ters  ;  and  so  popular  was  the  aid  which  it  rendered  to 
parents,  that  it  became  the  maternal  ancestor  of  a  long 


28  HANNAH      MORE. 

line  of  "  Letters  to  the  Young,"  it  being  through  no  want 
of  advisers  or  lack  of  advice,  if  the  young  of  our  genera 
tion  are  not  vastly  wiser  and  better  than  their  elders  were. 
Here  is  Mrs.  Chapone,  one  of  the  Blue  Stocking  coterie, 
with  another,  no  less  distinguished  in  her  day,  Hon.  Fran 
ces  Boscawen,  widow  of  Admiral  Boscawen,  the  warm  and 
appreciating  friend  of  literary  worth  and  rising  genius. 
With  her  comes  Mrs.  Vesey,  to  whom,  in  pleasing  remem 
brance  of  the  delightful  gatherings  so  often  enjoyed  at  her 
house,  Miss  More  dedicated  her  Bas  Bleu  poem, 

,          "Vesey!  of  sense  the  judge  and  friend, 
Awhile  my  idle  strains  attend." 

Brilliant  as  these  circles  were,  enriched  by  the  learning 
of  Johnson,  the  wit  of  Garrick,  the  taste  of  Reynolds,  the 
elegance  of  Mrs.  Montagu,  and  the  moral  worth  of  Eliza 
beth  Carter,  they  were  yet  to  receive  a  delightful  accession 
in  the  gifted  woman,  who,  in  company  with  her  sister 
Sarah,  left  Bristol  on  a  visit  to  London,  in  the  winter  of 
1773,  and  began,  as  she  says,  for  the  first  time,  to  "  know 
something  of  the  hurry,  bustle,  dissipation,  and  nonsen 
sical  nutter  of  town  life." 

Her  reputation  had  already  preceded  her,  and  Hannah 
More  is  soon  a  guest  at  the  table  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 


INTRODUCTION     TO     LONDON     SOCIETY.  29 

whose  handsome  establishment  in  Leicester-fields  was  the 
resort  of  the  gay  and  learned.  Hosts  of  friends  sur 
rounded  his  hospitable  board,  drawn  thither  quite  as  much 
by  the  genial  warmth  of  his  spirit  as  by  the  world-wide 
reputation  of  his  genius,  and  the  monuments  of  his  in 
dustry  and  art.  His  sister  Frances  presided  over  his 
house,  with  whom  Hannah  was  speedily  on  an  intimate 
footing.  Miss  Reynolds,  if  we  may  credit  a  contemporary 
critic,  seems  not  to  have  been  a  very  skilful  housewife,  or 
to  have  served  her  brother's  table  with  an  especial  refer 
ence  to  order  or  arrangement,  there  often  being  a  de 
ficiency  of  knives,  forks,  plates,  and  glasses ;  yet  their 
friends  long  loved  the  memory  of  those  social  hours, 
which,  after  the  sun  had  set  that  gave  them  warmth,  no 
one  ever  attempted  to  revive  or  imitate. 

We  next  follow  her  to  Hampton  Court,  the  princely 
domain  of  Cardinal  Woolsey,  located  in  the  midst  of  an 
extensive  park  of  majestic  trees,  sixteen  rniles  from  Lon 
don.  Here  were  the  chambers  of  royalty,  with  their 
superb  pictures  and  ancient  tapestry;  here  the  beauties 
of  King  William's  court,  looking  beautiful  still  through 
the  stiff  and  antique  drapery  of  elder  times :  here,  too, 
the  records  of  royal  industry,  tapestry  wrought  by  Queen 

Mary's   hands,  when,  surrounded  by  her  maidens,    "  her 
3* 


U  IN  J.  V  JOXAOJLJU  A 


30  HANNAH      MORE. 

needle  plied  its  busy  task."  Although  this  seat  of  his 
torical  interest  and  royal  magnificence  could  not  fail  to 
interest,  her  youthful  enthusiasm  was  quickened  to  a 
warmer  glow  by  a  visit  to  the  "  immortal  shades"  of 
Twickenham,  the  abode,  both  in  life  and  death,  of  Pope, 
one  of  her  favorite  authors,  and  at  the  distance  of  only  a 
pleasant  walk  from  Hampton  Court. 

The  curious  domain  of  the  poet,  at  that  time  in  pos 
session  of  Sir  William  Stanhope,  had  suffered  from 
outward  changes ;  the  rooms  had  been  stripped  of  every 
memento  of  its  former  occupant :  his  bust,  statue,  pictures, 
and  library,  many  of  them  gifts  of  distinguished  men, 
and  tributes  to  his  genius,  had  been  scattered  far  and 
wide  among  his  friends,  but  the  house  remained,  with  its 
curiously  wrought  arcades,  columns,  and  porticos.  The 
garden,  shrubbery,  and  grotto  were  also  there,  where  Ad- 
dison,  Swift,  Parnel,  and  Bolingbroke  read,  wrought,  wrote 
and  raked,  far  from  the  busy  and  distracting  scenes  of 
London  life ;  nor  could  she  leave  without  plucking  a  sprig 
of  laurel  from  the  garden,  and  stealing  two  stones  from 
the  grotto,  in  memory  of  the  great  departed  :  neither  did 
she  leave  Twickenham,  without  visiting  the  hallowed  tomb 
of  her  "beloved  bard,"  who  quietly  rests  in  the  village 
church,  beneath  a  stone  bearing  the  inscription,  "  One  who 


INTRODUCTION     TO     LONDON     SOCIETY.  31 

would  not  be  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey,"  he,  as  Han 
nah  wittily  suggested,  probably  preferring  to  be  the  first 
ghost  in  Twickenham  than  an  inferior  one  at  Westminster. 

On  her  return  to  Hampton,  she  visited  the  country 
house  of  David  Garrick,  beautifully  situated  on  the 
Thames,  and  then  undergoing  some  repairs.  She  wan 
dered  over  his  grounds,  and  stole  into  his  temple,  a  quiet 
garden  retreat,  containing,  among  other  things,  a  chair, 
curiously  wrought  from  the  tree  which  grew  in  Shaks- 
peare's  garden. 

"  I  sat  in  it,"  wrote  she  to  Mrs.  Gwatkins,  "  but  caught 
no  inspiration.  What  drew  my  attention  most  was  a 
splendid  statue  of  that  great  and  original  man,  in  an 
attitude  strikingly  pensive ;  his  limbs  strongly  muscular, 
his  countenance  expressive  of  some  vast  conception,  and 
his  whole  form  seeming  the  bigger  from  some  immense 
idea,  with  which  you  suppose  his  imagination  pregnant. 
The  statue  cost  £500." 

With  a  kindred  spirit  did  she  dwell  upon  the  storied 
honors  and  fair  renown  of  those,  whose  haunt  was  upon 
the  lips  of  men,  and  whose  dwelling  was  in  their  heart. 

The  drama  was  then  a  favorite  department  of  literature 
with  Hannah  More :  her  first  article  was  dramatic,  and  she 
had  already  sketched  some  of  the  most  grand  and  thrill- 


32  H  A  N  N  A  H      M  O  R  E. 

ing  scenes  in  Hebrew  history,  which  afterward  appeared 
in  the  form  of  the  "  Sacred  Dramas."  No  wonder,  then, 
that  Garrick  was  at  once  an  object  of  curiosity  and  deep 
interest ;  and  she  longed  to  witness  those  remarkable  gifts, 
fitted 

"To  pierce,  to  cleave,  to  tear  the  heart, 
Whatever  names  delight  the  ear, 
Othello,  Richard,  Hamlet  bear." 

She  first  beheld  him  in  the  character  of  King  Lear, 
and  her  graphic  description  of  his  powers,  in  a  letter  to 
a  mutual  friend,  evincing  a  just  appreciation,  and  a  correct 
criticism  of  the  drama,  inspired  him  at  once  with  the 
strongest  desire  to  see  and  know  her. 

David  Garrick  was  at  that  time  master  of  the  English 
stage :  though  somewhat  past  the  prime  of  life,  having 
nearly  reached  his  sixtieth  year,  his  frame  still  retained 
the  flexibility  and  vigor  of  earlier  days.  With  genius 
and  refinement,  "  the  finest  man  in  the  world  for  sprightly 
conversation,"  as  Johnson  says,  whose  pupil  he  had  been, 
and  whose  friendship  he  ever  continued  to  enjoy,  Garrick's 
house,  adorned  by  Eva  Maria,  his  beautiful  and  accom 
plished  wife,  was  a  centre  of  attraction  to  the  literary 
circles  of  that  period. 


INTRODUCTION     TO     LONDON     SOCIETY.          33 

Of  the  versatility  of  his  talent,  some  idea  may  be 
formed  from  the  famous  couplet  of  Goldsmith, 

"  Our  Garrick's  a  salad,  for  in  him  \ve  can  see 
Oil,  vinegar,  sugar,  and  saltness  agree." 

An  introduction  soon  followed :  the  interview  imparted 
mutual  pleasure,  and  the  foundations  of  a  warm  and  cor 
dial  intimacy  were  laid,  which  lasted  until  his  death. 
Garrick  immediately  introduced  his  new  friend  into  the 
elegant  circle  over  which  Mrs.  Montagu  presided :  she 
soon  became  a  frequent  guest  at  Berkeley  Square,  and  the 
intimate  companion  of  many  of  the  choice  spirits  of  that 
day. 

But  Hannah,  with  whetted  appetite,  longed  to  behold 
the  wonder  of  the  age,  "  Irene  Johnson !"  "  Dictionary 
Johnson  !"  "  Idler,  Rambler  Johnson  !"  nor  did  her  wishes 
remain  long  ungratified.  Calling  one  day  at  Sir  Joshua's, 
she  learned  he  was  within :  her  friends  tried  to  moderate 
her  eagerness,  by  telling  her  of  the  moody  fits  of  the 
Doctor,  in  which  he  would  be  quite  as  likely  to  turn  his 
back,  or  think  of  Tom  Thumb,  as  on  another  occasion,  to 
give  her  a  befitting  welcome.  How  agreeably  disap 
pointed  was  she,  on  entering  the  room  where  he  was,  to 
find  herself  greeted  with  the  utmost  cordiality,  by  a  verse 


84  H  A  N  N  A  II      M  O  R  E. 

of  her  own  poetry,  while  he  arose  to  receive  her,  with 
Sir  Joshua's  maccaw  jauntily  perched  on  his  arm :  the 
maccaw,  indeed,  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  Doctor, 
whose  fame  has  extended  to  our  own  times,  by  its  appre 
ciating  estimate  of  young  Northcote's  work.  While  a 
pupil  at  Sir  Joshua's  studio,  he  took  a  portrait  of  one  of 
the  servants,  which  being  brought  into  the  room  where 
the  bird  happened  to  be,  it  mistook  it  for  the  original, 
against  whom  it  harbored  a  grudge,  and  instantly  flew 
to  the  canvass  with  the  greatest  fury;  nor  could  it  ever 
contemplate  the  picture  without  a  similar  exhibition  of 
feeling.  Hannah  was  most  favorably  impressed  with  the 
great  conversationist;  and  not  long  afterwards,  she  and 
her  sister  Sarah  paid  him  a  visit  at  his  own  lodgings,  in 
company  with.  Miss  Reynolds.  On  entering  his  little  par 
lor,  they  found  it  occupied  by  a  pale,  shrunken  old  lady, 
dressed  in  scarlet,  her  head  surmounted  by  a  black  lace 
hood,  with  stiff  projecting  wings :  she  received  them  with 
a  mild  and  engaging  manner,  and  bade  them  be  seated. 
Hannah  promptly  obeyed,  by  jumping  into  a  great  arm 
chair,  which  she  naturally  concluded  could  be  nobody's 
accustomed  seat  but  the  Doctor's,  and  playfully  invoking 
the  inspiration  of  his  genius. 

Their  hostess  was  Miss  Anna  Williams,  the  blind  poet- 


INTRODUCTION     TO     LONDON     SOCIETY.  35 

ess,  who  for  forty  years  was  sheltered  beneath  the  Doctor's 
roof.  The  daughter  of  an  early  friend,  on  coming  up  to 
London,  before  his  wife's  death,  for  the  purpose  of  having 
an  operation  performed  upon  her  eyes,  she  was  invited  to 
become  a  guest  at  their  house  during  Mrs.  Johnson's 
illness.  She  was  the  companion  of  her  sick  chamber,  and 
after  her  death,  failing  to  receive  the  expected  benefit  from 
medical  aid,  Dr.  Johnson,  in  pity  to  her  desolate  situation, 
offered  her  a  home.  Her  destitute  situation  enlisted  the 
sympathy  of  his  friends,  and  she  became  a  pensioner 
upon  their  bounty.  Garrick  gave  her  a  benefit,  which 
settled  upon  her  £200.  Mrs.  Montagu  allowed  her  ten 
pounds  a  year,  and  Miss  Carter  aided  in  getting  up  a 
subscription  for  her  poems,  which  amounted  to  nearly 
£1500  more.  Thus,  though  her  book  has  long  since 
ceased  to  make  any  claim  upon  the  reading  world,  Miss 
Williams  is  destined  to  immortality  through  the  generosity 
of  her  benefactor,  and  the  liberality  of  his  friends. 

Hark !  the  heavy  tread  of  the  host  is  at  the  door :  he 
enters :  behold  his  burly  and  unwieldy  body,  his  face 
disfigured  by  scrofula,  and  head  surrounded  by  a  large, 
bushy,  grayish  wig,  well  singed,  or,  perhaps,  quite 
crisp  in  front — a  very  fright  to  the  respectable  company 
of  wigs  with  which  it  daily  associates :  its  master's  eyes 


36  H  A  N  N  A  H      M  O  R  E. 

are  both  weak  and  near-sighted,  which,  in  his  absorbing 
interest  for  a  favorite  author,  often  cause  him  to  bring 
the  light  within  a  dangerous  vicinity  to  his  person,  quite 
regardless  of  consequences.  When  he  dined  with  dis 
tinguished  guests  at  Leicester-fields,  Sir  Joshua's  butler 
used  to  take  the  liberty  of  drawing  the  Doctor  aside,  and 
replacing  the  old  wig  with  one  more  suitable  to  the 
occasion. 

He  is  dressed  in  plain  brown  clothes,  black  worsted 
stockings,  and  silver  knee-buckles.  His  rolling  gait,  with 
the  odd  and  convulsive  twists  of  his  unwieldy  body, 
added  to  a  harsh  and  imperious  voice,  altogether  formed 
a  personelle  sufficiently  disagreeable  to  repulse  the  least 
fastidious ;  but  with  all  those  defects  and  infirmities  of  the 
outward  man,  Dr.  Johnson  was  the  intellectual  Hercules 
of  his  age. 

"  Subtle  when  strong,  invincible  when  right, 
Armed  at  all  points,  and  glorying  in  his  might ; 
Gladiator-like,  he  traverses  the  field, 
And  strength  and  skill  compel  the  foe  to  yield." 

Of  the  Doctor,  in  a  softer  light,  the  poet  adds — 

"  And  I  have  seen  him  with  a  milder  air, 
Encircled  with  the  witty  and  the  fair, 


INTRODUCTION    TO     LONDON     SOCIETY.  37 

Even  in  old  age,  with  placid  mien  rejoice 

At  beauty's  smile,  and  beauty's  flattering  voice." 

At  the  time  of  Hannah's  introduction  to  him,  he  was 
past  sixty-five,  bearing  the  accumulated  infirmities  of  age 
and  disease,  though  keenly  alive  as  ever  to  the  pleasures 
of  tea  and  conversation.  No  person,  probably,  enjoyed 
with  more  relish  that  cup  which  cheers,  but  not  inebriates, 
or  possessed  a  more  appreciative  sense  of  the  qualities  of 
Bohea. 

Come  early  or  late,  the  tea-table  was  sure  to  be  spread. 
By  the  friendly  inspiration  of  the  fragrant  leaf,  his  morn 
ing  was  endured,  his  evenings  were  solaced,  and  he  could 
talk  the  twenty-four  hours  together  without  weariness  or 
rest,  did  not  a  considerate  regard  to  the  bed-time  of  his 
friends  release  them  from  his  side. 

"I  lie  down,"  he  once  said,  "that  my  acquaintance 
might  sleep,  for  I  lie  down  to  endure  oppressive  misery, 
and  soon  rise  again  to  pass  the  night  in  anxiety  and  pain." 
Of  poor  Johnson  it  might  be  said,  that  bodily  existence 
was  a  torture. 

As  he  enters  now  the  little  parlor  in  Fleet-street,  the 
comers  are  received  with  friendly  warmth ;  he  laughs 
heartily  at  Hannah,  and  declares  that  in  the  big  arm 
chair  he  never  sits. 

4 


38  HANNAH      MORE. 

Perhaps  they  discuss  his  "Journey  to  the  Hebrides," 
just  published,  a  work  which  shows  the  fertility  of  his 
mind,  in  investing  the  dryest  subject  with  interest,  and 
turning  the  most  barren  spot  to  a  profitable  account,  four 
thousand  copies  of  the  work  having  been  sold  on  the  first 
week  of  its  publication. 

On  Hannah's  return  to  Bristol,  in  1774,  her  feelings 
became  warmly  enlisted  for  her  favorite  candidate  in  the 
Parliament  election,  which  was  then  going  on,  Hon.  Ed 
mund  Burke,  who  made  the  friendship,  and  was  a  frequent 
guest  of  the  Misses  More.  When  success  at  the  polls 
became  more  than  probable,  the  sisters  presented  him 
with  their  congratulatory  addresses,  through  a  splendid 
cockade,  composed  of  the  sublime  and  beautiful  colors 
analyzed  in  his  famous  essay,  entwined  with  myrtle  and 
ivy,  laurel  and  bay,  decorated  with  silver  tassels,  and  filled 
with  appropriate  mottoes,  two  of  which  are  the  following: 

"He  is  himself  the  great  sublime  he  draws." 
"In  action  faithful,  and  in  honor  clear." 

The  box  was  handed  him  while  surrounded  by  a  large 
company,  which  being  opened,  the  cockade  came  to  light, 
amid  the  applauses  of  his  friends,  and  the  universal  in 
quiry  whence  the  tribute  came.  Burke  himself  declared 


INTRODUCTION     TO     LONDON     SOCIETY.          39 

it  could  only  be  from  his  Park-street  friends.  It  was 
elevated  to  a  conspicuous  situation  in  the  committee-room, 
until  his  success  became  undisputed,  when  it  graced  his 
cap  on  the  day  of  his  triumph. 


CHAPTER  III. 

at  tjr* 


THE  bright  world  of  intellectual  life  and  social  elegance, 
into  which  Hannah  More  was  suddenly  and  unexpectedly 
ushered,  while  it  brought  her  into  companionship  with 
people  whom  it  was  a  pleasure  and  a  privilege  to  know, 
also  brought  her  into  contact  with  amusements  and  habits, 
which  were  not  only  foreign  to  her  tastes,  but  opposed  to 
her  moral  sense  ;  though  indulged  in  and  enjoyed  by  her 
new  friends  and  admirers,  she  is  not  dazzled  by  their  exam 
ple,  or  seduced  into  an  approval  contrary  to  her  convictions. 

In  her  free  home  letters,  so  full  of  good  sense  and 
graphic  description,  she  opens  a  loophole  into  her  heart 
and  habits,  through  which  we  see  the  great  and  gifted  in 
the  easy  and  every-day  dress  of  social  and  familiar  inter 
course. 

The  following  was  written  during  her  second  visit  to 
London,  in  1775: 

"  Our  visit  was  at  Sir  Joshua's,  where  we  were  received 


A     PEEP     AT     THE     BLUES.  41 

with  all  the  friendship  imaginable.  I  am  going  to-day  to 
a  great  dinner :  nothing  can  be  conceived  so  absurd,  ex 
travagant,  and  fantastical,  as  the  present  mode  of  dressing 
the  head.  Simplicity  and  modesty  are  things  so  much 
exploded,  that  their  very  names  are  no  longer  remembered. 
I  have  just  escaped  from  one  of  the  fashionable  disfigurers, 
and  though  I  charged  him  to  dress  me  with  the  greatest 
simplicity,  and  to  have  only  a  very  distant  eye  upon  the 
fashion,  just  enough  to  avoid  the  pride  of  singularity; 
yet  in  spite  of  all  these  sage  cautions,  I  absolutely  blush 
at  myself,  and  turn  to  the  glass  with  as  much  caution  as 
a  vain  beauty  just  risen  from  the  small-pox,  which  cannot 
be  a  more  disfiguring  disease  than  the  present  mode  of 
dress.  Of  the  one,  the  calamity  may  be  greater  in  its 
consequences,  but  of  the  other,  it  is  more  corrupt  in  its 
cause. 

"  We  have  been  reading  a  treatise  on  the  morality  of 
Shakspeare.  It  is  a  happy  and  easy  way  of  filling  a  book 
that  the  present  race  of  authors  have  arrived  at — that  of 
criticising  the  works  of  some  eminent  poet;  with  mon 
strous  extracts  and  short  remarks.  It  is  a  species  of 
cookery  that  I  begin  to  grow  tired  of:  they  cut  up  their 
authors  in  chops,  and  by  adding  a  little  crumbled  bread 
of  their  own,  and  tossing  it  up  a  little,  they  present  it  as 


4. 2  HANNAH      MOKE. 

a  fresh  dish :  you  are  to  dine  upon  the  poet ;  the  critic 
supplies  the  garnish,  yet  has  the  credit,  as  well  as  the 
profit,  of  the  whole  entertainment." 

LONDON,  1775. 

I  had  yesterday  the  pleasure  of  dining  in  Hill-street, 
Berkeley  Square,  at  a  certain  Mrs.  Montagu's,  a  name  not 
totally  obscure.  The  party  consisted  of  herself,  Mrs.  Car 
ter,  Dr.  Johnson,  Salander,  and  Matty,  Mrs.  Boscawen, 
Miss  Reynolds,  and  Sir  Joshua  (the  idol  of  every  com 
pany),  some  other  persons  of  high  rank  and  less  wit,  and 
your  humble  servant — a  party  that  would  not  have  dis 
graced  the  table  of  Lelius  or  of  Atticus.  I  felt  myself  a 
worm,  the  more  a  worm  for  the  consequence  which  was 
given  me,  by  mixing  me  with  such  a  society;  but,  as  I 
told  Mrs.  Boscawen,  and  with  great  truth,  I  had  an  oppor 
tunity  of  making  an  experiment  of  my  heart,  by  which  I 
learned  that  I  was  not  envious;  for  I  certainly  did  not 
repine  at  being  the  meanest  person  in  company. 

Mrs.  Montagu  received  me  with  the  most  encouraging 
kindness :  she  is  not  only  the  finest  genius,  but  the  finest 
lady  I  ever  saw.  She  lives  in  the  highest  style  of  mag 
nificence  ;  her  apartments  and  table  are  in  the  most 
splendid  taste ;  but  what  baubles  are  thes3,  when  speaking 
of  a  Montagu  !  her  form  (for  she  has  no  body)  is  delicate 


A     PEEP    AT    THE     BLUES.  43 

even  to  fragility;  her  countenance  the  most  animated  in 
the  world ;  the  sprightly  vivacity  of  fifteen,  with  the  judg 
ment  and  experience  of  a  Nestor.  But  I  fear  she  is  hasten 
ing  to  decay  very  fast.  Her  spirits  are  so  active,  that  they 
must  soon  wear  out  the  little  frail  receptacle  that  holds 
them.  Mrs,  Carter  has  in  her  person  a  great  deal  of  what 
the  gentlemen  mean  when  they  say,  such  a  one  is  a 
"  poetical  lady :"  however,  independently  of  her  great 
talents  and  learning,  I  like  her  much :  she  has  affability, 
kindness,  and  goodness ;  and  I  honor  her  heart  even  more 
than  her  talents.  But  I  do  not  like  one  of  them  better 
than  Mrs.  Boscawen :  she  is  at  once  polite,  learned,  judi 
cious,  and  humble ;  and  Mrs.  Palk  tells  me,  her  letters  are 
not  thought  inferior  to  Mrs.  Montagu's.  She  regretted 
(so  did  I),  that  so  many  suns  could  not  possibly  shine 
at  one  time :  but  we  are  to  have  a  smaller  party,  where, 
from  fewer  luminaries,  there  may  emanate  a  clearer,  stead 
ier,  and  more  beneficial  light.  Dr.  Johnson  asked  me  how 
I  liked  the  new  tragedy  of  Braganze.  I  was  afraid  to 
speak  before  company :  however,  as  I  thought  it  a  less 
evil  to  dissent  from  the  opinion  of  a  fellow-creature,  than 
to  tell  a  falsity,  I  ventured  to  give  my  sentiments ;  and 
was  satisfied  with  Johnson's  answering,  "you  are  right, 
madam." 


44  HANNAH     MORE. 

With  sisterly  pride,  and  in  a  tone  of  affectionate  eulogy, 
Sarah,  who  joined  Hannah  in  her  winter  sojourning  at 
London,  thus  writes,  in  her  bright  and  lively  style,  to  the 
sisterhood  at  Bristol : 

LONDON,  1775. 

Tuesday  evening  we  drank  tea  at  Sir  Joshua's,  with  Dr. 
Johnson.  Hannah  is  certainly  a  great  favorite.  She  was 
placed  next  him,  and  they  had  the  entire  conversation  to 
themselves.  They  were  both  in  remarkably  high  spirits : 
it  was  certainly  her  lucky  night !  I  never  heard  her  say  so 
many  good  things.  The  old  genius  was  extremely  jocular, 
and  the  young  one  very  pleasant.  You  would  have  ima 
gined  we  had  been  at  some  comedy,  had  you  heard  our 
peals  of  laughter.  They,  indeed,  tried  which  could  "pep 
per  the  highest,"  and  it  is  not  clear  to  me  that  the  lexicog 
rapher  was  really  the  highest  seasoner.  Yesterday,  Mr. 
Garrick  called  upon  us ;  a  volume  of  Pope  lay  upon  the 
table :  we  asked  him  to  read,  and  he  went  through  the 
latter  part  of  the  "  Essay  on  Man."  He  was  exceedingly 
good-humored,  and  expressed  himself  quite  delighted 
with  our  eager  desire  for  information ;  and  when  he  had 
satisfied  our  interrogatory,  "Now,  madam,  what  next?" 
He  read  several  lines  we  had  been  disputing  about,  with 
regard  to  emphasis,  in  many  different  ways,  before  ho 


A     PEEP     AT     THE     BLUES.  45 

decided  which  was  right.  He  sat  with  us  from  half-past 
twelve  till  three,  reading  and  criticising.  We  have  just 
had  a  call  from  Mr.  Burke. 

LONDON,  1775, 

"Bear  me,  some  god,  0  quickly  bear  me  hence, 
To  wholesome  solitude,  the  nurse  of " 

"  Sense,"  I  was  going  to  add,  in  the  words  of  Pope,  till  I 
recollected  that  pence  had  a  more  appropriate  meaning, 
and  was  as  good  a  rhyme.  This  apostrophe  broke  from 
me,  writes  Hannah,  on  coming  from  the  opera,  the  first  I 
ever  did,  the  last,  I  trust,  I  ever  shall  go  to.  For  what 
purpose  has  the  Lord  of  the  universe  made  his  creature 
man  with  a  comprehensive  mind?  why  make  him  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels  ?  why  give  him  the  faculty  of  think 
ing,  the  powers  of  wit  and  memory  ;  and  to  crown  all,  an 
immortal  and  never-dying  spirit?  Why  all  this  wondrous 
waste,  this  prodigality  of  bounty,  if  the  mere  animal  senses 
of  sight  and  hearing  (by  which  he  is  not  distinguished 
from  the  brutes  that  perish)  would  have  answered  the  end 
as  well ;  and  yet  I  find  that  the  same  people  are  seen  at 
the  opera  every  night — an  amusement  written  in  a  lan 
guage  the  greater  part  of  them  do  not  understand,  and 
performed  by  such  a  set  of  beings.  But  the  man 


46  II  A  N  N  A  H      M  0  R  E. 

"  "Who  bade  the  reign  commence 
Of  rescued  nature  and  reviving  sense," 

sat  at  my  elbow,  and  reconciled  me  to  my  situation,  not 
by  his  approbation,  but  his  presence.  Going  to  the  opera, 
like  getting  drunk,  is  a  sin  that  carries  its  own  punishment 
with  it,  and  that  a  very  severe  one.  Thank  my  dear  Doc 
tor  Stonehouse  for  his  kind  and  seasonable  admonitions 
on  my  last  Sunday's  engagement  at  Mrs.  Montagu's. 
Conscience  had  done  its  office  before ;  nay,  was  busy  at 
the  time ;  and  if  it  did  not  dash  the  cup  of  pleasure  to 
the  ground,  infused  at  least  a  tincture  of  wormwood  into 
it.  I' did  think  of  the  alarming  call,  "What  doest  thou 
here,  Elijah  ?"  and  I  thought  of  it  to-night  at  the  opera. 

SUNDAY  NIGHT,  9  o'clock. 

Perhaps  you  will  say,  I  ought  to  have  thought  of  it 
again  to-day,  when  I  tell  you  I  have  dined  abroad  ;  but  it 
is  a  day  I  reflect  on  without  those  uneasy  sensations  one 
has,  when  one  is  conscious  it  has  been  spent  in  trifling 
company.  I  have  been  at  Mrs.  Boscawen's.  Mrs.  Mon 
tagu,  Mrs.  Carter,  Mrs.  Chapone,  and  myself  only  were  ad 
mitted.  We  spent  the  time,  not  as  wits,  but  as  reasonable 
creatures  ;  better  characters,  I  trow.  The  conversation  was 
sprightly,  but  serious.  I  have  not  enjoyed  an  afternoon  so 


A     PEEP     ATT  HE     BLUES.  47 

much  since  I  have  been  in  town.  There  was  much  ster 
ling  sense,  and  they  are  all  ladies  of  high  character  for 
piety,  of  which,  however,  I  do  not  think  their  visiting  on 
Sunday  any  proof:  for  though  their  conversation  is  edi 
fying,  the  example  is  bad. 

The  more  I  see  of  the  "  honored,  famed,  and  great,"  the 
more  I  see  of  the  littleness,  the  unsatisfactoriness  of  all  cre 
ated  good,  and  that  no  earthly  pleasure  can  fill  up  the 
wants  of  the  immortal  principle  within.  One  need  go  no 
farther  than  the  company  I  have  just  left,  to  be  convinced 
that  "  pain  is  for  man,"  and  that  fortune,  talents,  and  sci 
ence,  are  no  exemption  from  the  universal  lot.  Mrs.  Mon 
tagu,  eminently  distinguished  for  wit  and  virtue,  "  the 
wisest  where  all  are  wise,"  is  hastening  to  insensible  decay 
by  a  slow  but  sure  hectic.  Mrs.  Chapone  has  experienced 
the  severest  reverses  of  fortune  ;  and  Mrs.  Boscawen's  life 
has  been  a  continued  series  of  afflictions,  that  may  almost 
bear  a  parallel  with  those  of  the  righteous  man  of  Uz. 
Tell  me,  then,  what  is  it  to  be  wise  ?  This,  you  will  sav, 
is  exhibiting  the  unfavorable  side  of  the  picture  of  human 
ity,  but  it  is  the  right  side,  the  side  that  shows  the  like 
ness. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


WHILE  Miss  More  was  at  home  in  the  winter  of  1775, 
she  one  day  said  to  her  sisters,  "  I  have  been  so  fed  with 
praise,  I  think  I  will  venture  to  try  what  my  real  value 
is,  by  writing  a  slight  poem." 

Her  social  position  had  been  greatly  changed  since  the 
Pastoral  Drama  issued  from  her  pen,  perhaps  at  the  desk 
of  the  noisy  school-room,  beyond  which  her  fame  and  in 
fluence  were  but  just  extending. 

London  and  "live  authors"  were  yet  in  the  distance, 
lying  in  the  warm  sunlight  of  her  youthful  fancy,  nor  had 
her  gayest  hopes  or  wildest  wishes  or  maturing  powers 
foretold  the  honored  destiny  in  store  for  her.  Now,  on  the 
path  of  time,  had  she  been  out  to  meet  it  ;  the  brilliant 
circles  of  London  already  delighted  in  her  presence;  wit, 
wealth,  and  learning,  bade  her  welcome  ;  her  mind,  quick 
ened  and  enriched,  asked  for  proof  of  the  powers  thus  ad 
mired  and  valued  by  the  great  and  gifted. 


LITERARY     BLOSSOMINGS.  49 

The  Pastoral  Drama  even  had  become  a  favorite:  a 
sixth  edition  had  been  called  for,  and  it  was  this  year  pub 
lished  in  Philadelphia,  whence  came  two  little  poems  in 
compliment  to  its  author :  the  entire  profits  of  the  sale  had 
netted  £100. 

Hannah  resumed  her  pen,  and  within  a  fortnight,  two 
poems  were  completed, — "  Sir  Eldred  of  the  Bower,"  and 
"  The  Bleeding  Rock."  These,  on  her  return  to  London, 
she  presented  to  a  well-known  publisher,  Cadell,  who 
offered  her  forty  guineas,  promising  at  the  same  time, 
could  she  discover  what  Goldsmith  received  for  his  "  De 
serted  Village,"  to  increase  the  sum  to  that  amount. 

Of  this  flattering  award  of  pounds  and  pence,  the  "  De 
serted  Village"  has  now  no  right  to  feel  envious,  for  it  has 
a  pepetual  inheritance  in  our  hearts,  while  "  Sir  Eldred," 
after  a  brief  fondling  from  the  great  men  of  his  day,  has 
passed  into  obscurity  and  neglect. 

Miss  Sally  More,  who  accompanied  her  sister  to  London, 
writes  home  the  gratifying  news — "  From  Miss  Reynolds 
we  learn,  that  Sir  Eldred  is  the  theme  of  conversation  in 
all  the  polite  circles,  and  that  the  beauteous  Bertha  has 
kindled  a  flame  in  the  cold  heart  of  Johnson,  who  declares, 
that  her  parent  has  but  one  fault,  which  is,  suffering  her 
self  to  graze  upon  the  barren  rocks  of  Bristol,  while  the 

5 


50  H  A  N  N  A  11      M  O  Jl  E. 

rich  pastures  of  London  are  guarded  by  no  fence  which 
could  exclude  her  from  them." 

In  another  letter  she  adds  :  "  If  a  wedding  should  take 
place  before  our  return,  don't  be  surprised — between  the 
mother  of  Sir  Eldred  and  the  father  of  Irene — nay,  Mrs. 
Montagu  says,  if  tender  words  are  the  precursors  of  connu 
bial  engagements,  we  may  expect  great  things  ;  for  it  is 
nothing  but  'child,'  a  'little  fool,'  'love,'  and  'dearest.' 
After  much  critical  discourse,  he  turns  round  to  me,  and 
with  one  of  his  most  amiable  looks,  which  must  be  seen  to 
form  the  least  idea  of,  he  says  :  '  I  have  heard  you  are  en 
gaged  in  the  useful  and  honorable  occupation  of  teaching 
young  ladies :'  upon  which,  with  all  the  ease,  familiarity, 
and  confidence  we  should  have  done,  had  only  our  dear 
Dr.  Stonehouse  been  present,  we  entered  upon  the  history 
of  our  birth,  parentage,  and  education,  showing  how  we 
were  born  with  more  desires  than  guineas,  and  how  as  years 
increased  our  appetites,  the  cupboard,  at  length,  began  to 
grow  too  small  for  them,  and  how  with  a  bottle  of  water,  a 
bed  and  a  blanket,  we  set  out  to  seek  our  fortunes ;  and 
how  we  found  a  great  house  with  nothing  in  it ;  and  how 
it  was  like  to  remain  so,  till  looking  into  our  knowledge- 
boxes,  we  happened  to  find  a  little  learning  a  very  good 
thing,  when  land  is  gone — and  so,  at  last,  by  giving  a  little 


LITERARY     BLOSSOMINGS.  51 

of  this  to  those  who  had  less,  we  got  a  good  store  of  gold 
in  return — but  how,  alas,  we  wanted  the  wit  to  keep  it. 
'  I  love  you  both,'  cried  the  Doctor.  *  I  love  you  all  five ! 
I  never  was  at  Bristol ;  I  will  come  on  purpose  to  see  you, 
— what !  five  women  live  happily  together !  I  will  come 
and  see  you.  I  have  spent  a  happy  evening ;  I  am  glad 
I  came ;  God  forever  keep  you — you  live  to  shame  duch 
esses.'  He  took  his  leave  with  so  much  warmth  and  ten 
derness,  we  were  quite  affected  by  his  manner." 

The  sisters  visited  Garrick  at  his  beautiful  rural  resi 
dence  at  Hampton,  where  he  entertained  them  by  read 
ing  the  whimsical  correspondence  in  prose  and  verse,  which 
for  many  years  he  had  carried  on  with  the  first  geniuses 
of  that  age. 

"We  see  him  now,"  says  Patty,  "in  his  mellower  light, 
when  the  world  has  been  shaken  off:  he  says,  he  longs  to 
enter  into  himself,  and  to  study  the  more  important  duties 
of  life,  which  he  is  determined  upon  doing.  The  next  time 
we  go,  Hannah  is  to  carry  some  of  her  writing ;  she  is  to 
have  a  little  table  by  herself,  and  to  continue  her  studies, 
while  he  does  the  same." 

"  I  dined  at  the  Adelphia  yesterday,"  writes  Hannah, 
in  one  of  her  free  home-letters,  revealing  so  much  of  just 
what  it  is  pleasant  to  know.  "  It  was  a  particular  occa- 


52  HANNAH      MORE. 

sion,  an  annual  meeting,  where  nothing*  but  men  are  usu 
ally  asked.  I,  however,  was  of  the  party,  and  an  agree 
able  day  it  was  to  me.  I  have  seldom  heard  so  much  wit 
under  the  banner  of  so  much  decorum.  Colman  and  Dr. 
Schomburg  were  of  the  party ;  the  rest  were  chiefly  old 
doctors  of  divinity.  At  six  I  begged  leave  to  come  home, 
as  I  expected  a  polite  assembly  a  little  after  seven.  They 
came  at  seven.  The  dramatis  persons  were  Mrs.  Bosca- 
wen,  Mrs.  Garrick,  and  Miss  Reynolds :  my  beaux  were 
Dr.  Johnson,  Dean  Tucker,  and  last,  but  not  least  in  our 
love,  David  Garrick.  You  know  that  wherever  Johnson 
is,  the  confinement  to  the  tea-table  is  rather  a  durable  sit 
uation,  and  it  was  an  hour  and  a  half  before  I  got  my  en 
largement.  Garrick  was  the  very  soul  of  the  company,  and 
I  never  saw  Johnson  in  such  perfect  good  humor.  Sally 
knows  that  we  have  often  heard  that  one  can  never  prop 
erly  enjoy  the  company  of  these  two  unless  they  are 
together.  There  is  great  truth  in  this  remark ;  for  after 
the  Dean  and  Mrs.  Boscawen  (who  were  the  only  stran 
gers)  were  withdrawn,  and  the  rest  stood  up  to  go,  John 
son  and  Garrick  began  a  close  encounter,  telling  old  sto 
ries,  '  e'en  from  their  boyish  days,'  at  Li tch field.  We  all 
stood  around  them  for  above  an  hour,  laughing  in  defiance 


LITERARY     BLOSSOMINGS.  53 

of  every  rule  of  Chesterfield.     Johnson  outstaid  them  all, 
and  sat  with  me  half  an  hour." 

At  the  repeated  and  urgent  solicitations  of  the  Garricks, 
Miss  More  soon  after  took  up  her  abode  at  the  Adelphia, 
their  town  house,  of  which  she  humorously  says,  "The 
master  and  mistress  are  sensible,  well-behaved  people,  and 
keep  good  company ;  besides,  they  are  fond  of  books,  and 
can  read,  and  have  a  shelf  full,  which  they  lend  me.  Add 
to  this,  it  is  not  a  common  lodging-house :  they  are  care 
ful  whom  they  take  in  ;  and  will  have  no  people  of  bad 
character,  or  who  keep  irregular  hours." 

"I  have  a  great  deal  of  time  at  my  own  disposal,  to  read 
my  own  books,  and  see  my  own  friends  ;  and  whenever  I 
please,  may  join  in  the  most  elegant  and  polished  society 
in  the  world.  Our  breakfasts  are  little  literary  societies — 
there  is  generally  company  at  meals,  as  they  think  it 
saves  time,  by  avoiding  the  necessity  of  seeing  people  at 
other  seasons.  Mr.  Garrick  sets  the  highest  value  upon 
his  time.  I  detest  and  avoid  public  places  more  than 
ever,  and  should  make  a  miserably  bad  fine  lady." 

Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  her  industry,  that  amid 
all  the  social  attractions  which  surrounded  her,  she  could 
find  time  to  read  four  or  five  hours  every  day,  and  some 
times  write  ten. 

5* 


54  H  A  N  N  A  II      M  O  K  E. 

There  is  something  heart-warming  in  the  cordial  and 
unfettered  intercourse  of  Hannah  and  her  London  friends. 
The  circle  into  which  she  had  been  thrown  contained 
almost  every  element  for  social  enjoyment:  no  circle, 
indeed,  has  been  more  famed  for  its  colloquial  powers, 
to  which  wit,  learning,  and  refinement,  good  breeding, 
good  nature,  and  good  sense,  made  such  unstinted  con 
tributions. 

How  pleasant  is  it  to  snatch  these  glimpses  into  the 
home-life  of  distinguished  men,  and  to  see  them,  as  it 
were,  in  their  every-day  dress. 

Miss  More  once  said  to  Horace  Walpole,  "that  the 
truest  objects  of  warm  attachment  are  the  small  parts 
of  great  characters,"  which,  we  cannot  help  thinking, 
comprehends  a  delightful  truth.  Who  does  not  love 
Cowper  taming  his  hares,  or  enjoy  Johnson  sipping  his 
tea,  or  Pope  at  work  in  his  garden  ? — when  the  abilities 
which  inspired  our  admiration,  and  seemed  to  lift  their 
possessor  beyond  the  common  reach  of  our  sympathies, 
taketh  pleasure  in  those  "slender  joys,  which,  often  re 
peated,  fall  like  sunshine  on  the  soul." 

"  Let  me  tell  you  a  ridiculous  circumstance  which  hap 
pened  the  other  day,"  writes  Hannah,  in  one  of  her 
delightful  home-letters.  "After  dinner  Garrick  took  up 


LITERARY     BLOSSOMINGS.  55 

the  Monthly  Review  (civil  gentlemen,  by-the-bye,  these 
monthly  reviewers),  and  read  'Sir  Eldred'  with  all  his 
grace  and  pathos.  I  think  I  was  never  so  ashamed  in 
my  life ;  but  he  read  it  so  superlatively  that  I  cried  like 
a  child.  Only  think,  what  a  scandalous  thing  to  cry  at 
the  reading  of  one's  own  poetry!  I  could  have  beaten 
myself;  for  it  looked  as  if  I  thought  it  very  moving, 
which,  I  can  truly  say,  is  far  from  being  the  case.  But 
the  beauty  of  the  jest  lies  in  this :  Mrs.  Garrick  twinkled 
as  well  as  I,  and  made  as  many  apologies  for  crying  at 
her  husband's  reading,  as  I  did  for  crying  at  my  own 
verses.  She  got  out  of  the  scrape,  by  pretending  that 
she  was  touched  by  the  story,  and  /  by  saying  the  same 
thing  of  the  reading.  It  furnished  us  a  great  laugh  at 
the  catastrophe,  when  it  really  would  have  been  decent 
to  have  been  a  little  more  sorrowful." 

In  spite  of  Sir  Eldred's  fame  among  his  contempo 
raries,  and  Mrs.  Montagu's  declaration — a  very  partial 
one,  we  must  believe,  "that  The  Bleeding  Rock  will 
stand,  unimpaired  by  ages,  as  eminent  as  any  in  the 
Grecian  Parnassus;"  and  of  Richard  Burke,  who  calls 
them  "  truly  elegant  and  tender  performances,"  we 
cannot  help  thinking  that  the  moral  embraced  in  Sir 


56  HANNAH      MOB  E. 

Eldred's  closing  lines  is  destined  to  a  far  longer  existence, 
than  the  legend  which  verifies  it. 

"  The  deadliest  wounds  with  which  we  bleed, 

Our  crimes  inflict  alone ; 
Man's  mercies  from  God's  hand  proceed, 
His  miseries  from  his  own." 

Garrick,  for  so  many  years  the  pride  of  the  English 
stage,  was  now  upon  the  eve  of  quitting  it  forever,  in  order 
to  taste  the  sweets,  and  enjoy  the  calm  of  private  life. 
Having  nearly  reached  his  "  chair  age,"  and  becoming 
subject  to  severe  attacks  of  sickness,  which  must  soon  im 
pair  his  physical  powers,  he  resolved  to  leave  with  all  his 
honors  thick  upon  him.  Before  doing  so,  he  consented 
once  more,  and  for  the  last,  time,  to  exhibit  those  remark 
able  powers  which  inspired  Dr.  Franklin  to  write  at  once 
a  correct  criticism  and  just  eulogy  in  the  following  lines  : — 

"So  when  Great  Shakspeare  to  his  Garrick  joined, 
"With  mutual  aid  coaspire  to  rouse  the  mind, 
Tis  not  a  scene  of  idle  mimicry; 
Tis  Lear's,  Hamlet's,  Richard's  self  we  see. 
We  feel  the  actor's  strength,  the  poet's  fire ; 
"With  joy  we  praise,  with  rapture  we  admire, 
To  see  such  powers  within  the  reach  of  art, 
And  fiction  thus  subdue  the  human  heart." 


LITERARY     BLOSSOMINGS.  5  7 

For  two  or  three  weeks,  Drury  Lane  was  filled  with  ad 
miring  audiences.  In  the  character  of  Hamlet,  Garrick 
is  said  particularly  to  have  excelled,  filling,  with  singular 
power,  says  one,  the  whole  soul  of  the  spectator,  and 
transcending  the  most  finished  idea  of  the  poet. 

"  I  have,  at  last,"  writes  Hannah  on  this  occasion  to  Dr. 
Stonehouse,  "  had  the  entire  satisfaction  of  seeing  Garrick 
in  Hamlet.  Posterity  will  never  be  able  to  form  the 
slightest  idea  of  his  powers.  The  more  I  see  him,  the 
more  I  wonder  and  admire.  It  seems  to  me  as  if  I  had 
been  assisting  at  the  funeral  obsequies  of  the  poets.  I  feel 
almost  as  much  pain  as  pleasure.  He  is  quite  happy  in 
the  prospect  of  his  release." 

The  strong  intelligence  of  his  eye,  the  animated  and 
ever-varying  expression  of  his  whole  countenance,  the  flexi 
bility  of  his  voice,  with  his  grace  and  ease  of  attitude,  is 
said  altogether  to  have  produced  an  indescribable  and 
profound  impression  upon  the  mind,  and  one  which  no 
language  can  convey  to  another. 

At  the  final  parting  Garrick  wept,  while  tears  and  ap 
plauses  accompanied  from  the  stage.  This  occurred  in 
May,  1776. 

He  soon  afterwards  disposed  of  his  share  in  Drury  Lane 
for  £35,000,  and  retreated  to  domestic  privacy,  in  hope. 


58  H  A  N  N  A  H      M  O  11  E. 

perhaps,  of  spending  the  last  acts  of  life's  drama  in  scenes 
more  befitting  a  final  exit  behind  the  curtain  of  eternity. 
Touching  the  event,  Hannah  thus  expresses  herself  in  the 
concluding  verses  of  a  little  poem,  written  after  her  return 
to  Bristol,  and  addressed  to  Dragon,  Garrick's  favorite  dog. 

"  How  wise !    long  pampered  with  applause, 
To  make  a  voluntary  pause, 
And  lay  his  laurels  down  ! 
Boldly  repelling  each  strong  claim, 
To  dare  assert  to  wealth  and  fame, 

Enough  of  both  I've  known. 
• 

How  wise !   a  short  retreat  to  steal, 
The  vanity  of  life  to  feel, 

And  from  its  cares  to  fly ; 
To  act  one  calm,  domestic  scene, 
Earth's  bustle  and  the  grave  between, 

Retire,  and  learn  to  die." 

What  Dragon  failed  to  appreciate  in  the  ode,  the  poet 
naturally  concluded  his  master  would,  and  it  issues  from 
her  pen  an  utterance  of  grateful  love  for  the  affection  and 
kindness  unsparingly  bestowed  upon  her  by  his  famed 
master.  Ah,  yes,  humorously  sings  the  bard, 


LITERARY     BLOSSOMINGS.  50 

"I'd  get  my  master's  ways  by  rote, 
Ne'er  would  I  bark  at  ragged  coat, 

Nor  tear  the  tattered  sinner; 
Like  him,  I'd  love  the  dog  of  merit, 
Caress  the  cur  of  broken  spirit, 
And  give  them  all  a  dinner. 

And  then  on  me  what  joys  would  wait ; 
Were  I  the  guardian  of  the  gate, 

How  useless  bolt  and  latch ! 
How  vain  were  locks,  and  bars  how  vain, 
To  shield  from  harm  the  household  train 

Whom  I,  from  love,  would  watch !" 

Manuscript  copies  of  this  little  poein  were  handed 
around  and  read  by  her  friends,  until  she  was  induced  to 
publish  it  in  1778,  when  a  thousand  copies  were  sold  in  a 
single  week. 


the  following  summer  we  find  Miss  More  journeying 
into  Norfolk,  hunting  up  old  friends  of  her  father,  visiting 
country  cousins,  eating  brown  bread  and  custards,  and 
thoroughly  appreciating  all  the  good  -sense  which  fell  in 
her  way. 

Hannah  never  knew  whether  to  be  angry  or  ashamed, 
whether  to  scold  or  to  blush  at  the  fashionable  impositions 


60  HANNAH     MORE. 

of  her  day.  "I  protest,"  she  exclaimed,  in  speaking  of 
some  young  ladies  who  came  in  to  pay  her  an  evening's 
visit,  "  I  hardly  do  them  justice  when  I  pronounce  that 
they  had  among  them,  on  their  heads,  an  acre  and  an  half 
of  shrubbery,  besides  slopes,  grass-plats,  tulip-beds,  clumps 
of  peonies,  kitchen-gardens,  and  green-houses." 

"  Some  ladies  carry  on  their  heads  a  large  quantity  of 
fruit,  and  yet  they  would  despise  a  poor,  useful  member  of 
society,  who  carried  it  there  for  the  purpose  of  selling  it  for 
bread.  Spirit  of  Addison  1"  she  humorously  supplicates — 
"  thou,  who  with  such  fine  humor  and  polished  sarcasm 
didst  lash  the  cherry-colored  hood  and  party  patches,  and 
cut  down  a  whole  harvest  of  follies,  awake !  for  the  follies 
thou  didst  lash  were  but  the  beginning  of  follies  !  and  the 
absurdities  thou  didst  censure  were  but  the  seeds  of  ab 
surdities  !" 

Garrick,  it  is  said,,  struck  the  first  blow  to  this  fashion 
able  folly,  by  appearing  one  evening  on  the  stage,  his  cap 
decorated  with  a  profusion  of  every  sort  of  vegetable,  with 
a  huge  carrot  hanging  down  on  either  side. 

One  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  spirit  of  reform  has 
been  heard  in  the  councils  of  fashion,  for  her  sway  is  surely 
less  capricious  and  more  benign  in  our  own  day  ;  indeed, 
when  we  compare  the  frightful  wigs  and  cushions,  the 


LITERARY     BLOSSOMINGS.  61 

high-heeled  shoes  and  buckram  bodices  of  our  grandames, 
with  the  comparative  ease  and  naturalness  of  our  own 
times,  one  cannot  help  hoping  that  Fashion  has  entered 
into  a  league  of  good  fellowship  with  Nature,  graciously 
allowing  her  the  exercise  of  some  of  her  inalienable  rights 
to  life  and  liberty,  if  not  to  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

But  if  the  follies  of  London,  aped  in  the  retreats  of 
Hertfordshire,  pained  and  provoked  her,  she  found  some 
amends  in  a  visit  to  Mrs.  Barbauld,  and  in  the  sterling 
merits  of  her  cousin  Cotton,  from  whose  style  of  living 
she  draws  the  following  sensible  conclusion,  true  all  the 
world  over,  and  worthy  the  serious  consideration  of  people 
whose  expenses  are  getting  the  better  of  their  principles 
and  their  purses.  "I  have  long  ago  found  out,  that 
hardly  anybody  but  frugal,  plain  people,  do  generous 
things.  Our  cousin  Cotton,  who,  I  dare  say,  is  often 
ridiculed  for  his  simplicity  and  frugality,  could  yet  lay 
down  £200,  without  being  sure  of  ever  receiving  a  shil 
ling  interest,  for  the  laudable  purpose  of  establishing  a 
worthy  minister,  to  whom  he  is  still  M  very  considerable 
contributor.  This  is  commonly  the  case ;  and  I  am  apt 
to  conceive  a  prejudice  against  everybody  who  makes  a 
great  figure,  and  to  suspect  those  who  talk  generously." 

On  her  return,  she  accompanied  the  Garricks  to  Farn- 
6 


62  II  A  N  N  A  11      M  0  K  E. 

borough  Place,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Wilmot,  where  she 
met,  among  other  distinguished  guests,  Dr.  Kennicott, 
Hebrew  Professor  of  Oxford,  and  his  wife,  with  whom 
Miss  More  was  soon  on  an  intimate  footing. 

.In  the  year  1777,  Miss  More  again  took  up  her  pen, 
and  at  the  urgent  entreaty  of  Garrick,  determined  to  try 
her  powers  in  drama.  "Percy"  was  the  fruit  of  her 
labors.  She  sent  it  to  him,  who,  delighted  with  her 
success,  recommended  it  to  Mr.  Harris,  the  manager  of 
Drury  Lane.  The  tragedy  was  accepted,  and  preparations 
were  speedily  made  for  bringing  it  out.  Hannah  went 
down  to  London  to  bespeak  a  prologue  from  Garrick ; 
for  which,  on  being  finished,  he  humorously  begged  to 
know  what  she  meant  to  pay  him  ; — Dryden,  he  declared, 
used  to  have  five  guineas,  but  as  he  was  a  richer  man, 
he  would  be  content  with  a  handsome  supper.  Hannah 
insisted  she  could  only  afford  a  beef-steak  and  a  bottle  of 
porter ;  but  at  last  they  settled  down  on  toast  and  honey, 
— highly  flavored,  we  may  venture  to  add,  with  wit  and 
good  humor. 

Percy  was  received  with   acclamation,  and  was  played 

for  twelve  nights  to  overflowing  houses,  netting  her  £700. 

The  Duke  of  Northumberland,  and  the  Earl  of  Percy, 

sent  to  congratulate  her  on  her  great  success,  and  to  tLuuk 


LITERARY     BLOSSOMINGS.  63 

her  for  the  honor  she  had  done  them,  by  selecting  her 
subject  from  the  historical  records  of  their  family.  De 
tained  at  home  by  the  gout,  they  sent  and  bought  tick 
ets,  for  which  they  paid  as  "became  the  blood  of  the 
Percies." 

"  Many  scenes  in  this  play,"  says  Davies,  Garrick's  bi 
ographer,  "prognosticate  to  our  stage  a  rising  genius  in 
tragedy,  who,  in  time,  will  produce  scenes,  not  inferior 
to  the  best  of  Otway  and  Southern,  without  that  mixture 
of  licentiousness  and  vulgarity,  which  disgrace  the  pro 
ductions  of  these  writers." 

The  success  of  Percy  increased  the  interest  already  felt 
in  Hannah  More  by  her  London  friends.  She  is  beset 
with  engagements  and  visitations.  One  day  we  find  her 
at  Sir  Joshua's,  another  at  Mrs.  Montagu's,  with  Mrs. 
Chapone,  Mrs.  Boscawen,  and  Miss  Carter;  another  at 
the  Garricks',  with  the  "  Sour-crout  party,"  a  meeting  of 
learned  men  once  a  week  at  dinner,  at  which  sour-crout 
always  made  a  dish,  and  to  which  Miss  More  was  always 
invited,  when  she  was  in  town. 

"  They  are  playing  Percy,"  writes  its  author  to  her 
sisters,  "at  this  very  moment,  for  the  seventh  time.  I 
never  think  of  going:  it  is  very  odd,  but  it  does  not 


64  H  A  N  N  A  H      M  O  R  E. 

"  Last  night  was  the  ninth  of  Percy :  it  was  a  brilliant 
house,  and  /  was  there.  Lady  Forth  did  me  the  honor 
to  take  a  stage-box.  I  trembled  when  the  wickedness  of 
going  to  war  was  spoken,  as  I  was  afraid  my  Lord  was  in 
the  house,  and  that  speech,  though  not  written  with  any 
particular  design,  is  so  bold,  and  is  so  warmly  received, 
that  it  frightens  me.  Mrs.  Montagu  had  a  box  again; 
which,  as. she  is  a  consummate  critic,  and  is  hardly  ever 
seen  at  a  public  place,  is  a  great  credit  to  the  play.  We 
spent  an  agreeable  evening  together  at  Dr.  Cadogan's, 
where  she  and  I,  being  the  only  two  monsters  in  the 
creation,  who  never  touch  a  card  (and  laughed  at  enough 
we  are  for  it),  had  the  fireside  to  ourselves ;  and  a  more 
elegant  and  instructive  conversation  I  have  seldom  en 
joyed.  I  met  Mrs.  Chapone  one  day  at  Mrs.  Montagu's : 
she  is  one  of  Percy's  warmest  admirers ;  and  as  she  does 
not  go  to  plays,  but  has  formed  her  opinion  in  the  closet, 
it  is  more  flattering." 

"Mrs.  Garrick  came  to  me  this  morning,  and  wished 
me  to  go  to  the  Adelphi,  which  I  declined  doing,  being 
so  ill.  She  would  have  gone  herself  to  fetch  me  a  phy 
sician,  and  insisted  upon  sending  me  my  dinner,  which  I 
refused ;  but  at  six  this  evening,  when  Garrick  came  to 
the  Turk's  Head  to  dine,  there  accompanied  him  in  the 


LITERARY     BLOSSOMINGS.  65 

coach,  a  minced  chicken  in  the  stew-pan,  hot,  a  canister 
of  her  fine  tea,  and  a  pot  of  cream.  Were  there  ever 
such  people?  Tell  it  not  in  Epic  or  Lyric,  that  the  great 
Roscius  rode  with  a  stew-pan  of  minced  meat  with  him 
in  the  coach,  for  my  dinner.  Percy  is  acted  again  this 
evening;  do  any  of  you  choose  to  go  2  For  my  own 
part,  I  shall  enjoy  a  much  superior  pleasure — that  of 
sitting  by  the  fire,  in  a  good  chair,  and  being  denied  to 
all  company  :  what  is  Percy  to  this  ?" 

Miss  More  remained  at  London  during  the  winter,  and 
in  April,  1778,  returned  to  Bristol,  where  she  spent  the 
summer,  in  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  those  pursuits  so 
congenial  to  her  tastes,  and  in  the  exercise  of  those  dear, 
delightful  home  affections,  which  made  the  sunshine  of 

her  life. 

6* 


CHAPTER    V. 

Jtotlj  nf  (torirk— ODn  f^ntrical 

THE  New- Year's  greetings  of  1779  had  scarcely  died 
away,  before  the  tidings  of  Garrick's  death  startled  and 
saddened  the  English  public.  Amid  the  Christmas  fes 
tivities  of  Althorp,  whither  he  had  gone  with  his  wife,  he 
had  been  suddenly  stricken  by  his  old  complaint,  the 
stone,  whose  premonitory  warnings  he  had  disregarded,  in 
leaving  home  and  mingling  at  all  in  the  gayeties  of  the 
season. 

Recovering  a  little,  he  was  carried  to  London,  where  it 
was  thought  skill  and  attention  might  again  restore  him. 
The  distemper  not  yielding  to  the  usual  remedies,  some  of 
the  most  able  practitioners  of  the  city  came  unbidden  to 
his  bedside ;  but  the  power  of  human  science,  and  the 
faithful  nursing  of  his  wife,  availed  not.  Life  was  ebbing. 
His  family  physician  informed  him  that  if  he  had  any 
worldly  affairs  to  settle,  it  would  be  prudent  to  despatch 
them  as  soon  as  possible. 

m 


DKATH     OF     GAKRICK.  67 

"  I  have  nothing  of  that  kind  to  do,"  answered  Garrick, 
on  whose  now  wan  and  sunken  face,  the  shadow  of  death 
was  already  passing. 

Wednesday  morning,  January  20th,  1779,  witnessed  his 
closing  act  in  the  great  drama  of  life. 

Obedient  to  the  summons  of  the  afflicted  wife,  Hannah 
arose  from  her  sick  bed,  and  with  a  sorrowing  heart,  has 
tened  to  the  house  of  death.  Mrs.  Garrick  sunk  into  her 
arms.  "  I  have  this  moment  embraced  his  coffin,  and  you 
come  next !"  she  exclaimed,  with  a  bursting  heart ;  "  the 
goodness  of  God  to  me  is  inexpressible.  I  do  not  deserve 
it,  but  I  am  thankful  for  it." 

What  a  change  in  the  princely  mansion  !  the  wit,  the 
genius,  the  presence  of  its  "  well-graced  master,"  were  no 
longer  there.  Sorrow  sat  upon  every  household  face,  and 
the  rooms  were  hung  with  the  drapery  of  mourning. 

After  mingling  her  tears,  and  ministering  her  consola 
tions  to  the  living,  she  paid  a  melancholy  visit  to  all  that 
was  left  of  the  departed. 

"  His  new  house,"  she  says,  "  is  not  so  pleasant  as 
Hampton,  or  so  splendid  as  the  Adelphia,  but  it  is  com 
modious  enough  for  the  wants  of  its  inhabitant ;  and  be 
sides,  it  is  so  quiet  that  he  will  never  be  disturbed  until 
the  eternal  morning.  May  he  then  find  mercy  !" 


68  II  A  N  N  A  II      M  O  R  E. 

The  funeral  solemnities  took  place  on  the  first  of  Febru 
ary,  when  his  body  was  borne  in  all  the  pomp  and  circum 
stance  of  an  English  public  burial,  to  Westminster  Abbey, 
and  laid  in  the  poet's  corner,  beneath  the  tomb  of  Shaks- 
peare. 

Hannah,  accompanied  by  Miss  Cadogan,  who  had 
gained  tickets  of  admission  into  the  Abbey — no  one  being 
allowed  an  entrance  without  a  passport  from  the  Bishop — 
sat  in  a  little  gallery  directly  over  the  grave,  where  she 
could  distinctly  hear  and  see  the  solemn  ceremony.  "  And 
this  is  all  oF  Garrick,"  was  the  sad  utterance  of  her  heart — 
"yet  a  very  little  while  and  he  shall  say  to  the  worm, 
Thou  art  my  brother ;  and  to  corruption,  Thou  art  my 
mother  and  my  sister.  So  passes  away  the  fashion  of 
this  world." 

For  the  sake  of  his  friendship  for  Hannah  More,  and 
the  discerning  appreciation  which  he  seems  to  have  enter 
tained  for  her  abilities,  as  well  as  for  his  wonderful  dra 
matic  power,  and  the  amiable  and  friendly  intercourse 
which  we  have  holden  with  him  in  these  brief  pages,  shall 
we  not  add  a  few  more  words  before  the  final  leave- 
taking  ? 

There  may  be  some,  whose  inquiries  we  might  antici 
pate  by  adding,  that  David  Garrick  was  born  in  Litchfield, 


DEATHOFGARRICK.  69 

of  respectable  parents,  in  the  year  1716.  At  the  age  of 
nineteen,  he  became  a  pupil  in  the  newly  opened  seminary 
of  Samuel  Johnson,  which,  after  a  few  weeks'  trial,  was 
abandoned  both  by  pupil  and  teacher.  The  two  then 
joined  together,  determined  to  push  for  London,  the  Mecca 
of  so  many  pilgrims,  the  grave  of  so  many  hopes.  But 
while  many  a  poet  and  genius  had  dropped  like  untimely 
fruit  from  the  tree  of  life,  in  the  foul  and  murky  atmosphere 
of  London,  Johnson  and  Garrick  fought  their  way  through 
every  hindrance,  which  the  lack  of  fortune  and  of  friends 
may  be  conceived  to  set  up,  and  became,  at  last,  among 
the  great  men  of  their  times  ;  each,  in  his  own  sphere,  the 
greatest  that  had  yet  been. 

As  an  actor,  Garrick  is  said  never  to  have  had  a  com 
petitor — never  an  equal.  He  won  fame,  fortune,  and 
friends,  while  his  domestic  virtues,  ample  means,  and  re 
fined  tastes,  placed  him  in  a  social  position  far  above  the 
men  of  his  profession ;  and  yet  must  we  not  add — poor 
Garrick ! 

Social  life,  refined,  graceful,  thoughtless,  was  the  element 
in  which  he  lived  and  moved :  his  marvellous  powers 
adorned  and  delighted  the  world,  and  the  world  rewarded 
her  gifted  votary.  Yet  to  the  sober  eye  of  reason,  and  the 
severer  decisions  of  Christian  requirement,  the  treasures  of 


70  II  A  N  N  A  H     M  O  R  E. 

his  genius  were  wasted  to  serve  the  poor  purpose  of  amu 
sing  his  fellow-men,  and  futurity  was  mortgaged  for  the 
gay  sunshine  of  an  hour. 

The  soul,  bereaved  of  its  spiritual  susceptibilities,  and 
beggared  of  its  heavenly  hopes,  meets  death  with  calm  in 
difference, 

"Were  "  life  but  a  walking  shadow ;  a  poor  player 
That  struts  and  frets  his  hour  upon  the  stage, 
And  then  is  heard  no  more" — 

then  were  all  well — but  after  death  is  the  Judgment. 

Miss  More,  after  Garrick's  death,  wrote  two  more 
dramas;  "The  Fatal  Falsehood,"  and  "The  Inflexible 
Captive ;"  and  with  these  closed  her  contributions  to  the 
stage.  This  period  of  intellectual  excitement  and  literary 
success  was  brief  as  it  was  brilliant ;  for  her  views  of  theat 
rical  amusements  had  already  become  modified  by  an  in 
creasing  observation  of  their  effects,  and  a  few  years  later, 
she  came  to  regard  them  dangerous  to  morals,  and  hostile 
to  Christian  virtue. 

There  are  few,  perhaps,  whose  opinions  upon  this  subject 
are  more  entitled  to  a  respectful  hearing,  not  only  because 
her  social  connections  and  friendly  intercourse  with  Garrick 
would  have  tempted  her  to  view  them  in  the  most  favor- 


ON    THEATRICAL     AMUSEMENTS.  71 

able  light,  but  because  she  cannot  be  accused  of  any  secret 
or  early  bias  against  them,  it  being  thought  no  robbery  of 
religious  character  for  dignitaries  and  members  of  the 
church  to  frequent  the  theatre  ;  her  opinions,  therefore,  are 
the  candid  and  impartial  result  of  a  clear  head  and  a 
correct  heart. 

"  Why,"  let  us  ask  her,  "  why  write  for  the  stage 
at  all?" 

"  Because,"  she  replies,  "  I  was  led  to  entertain,  what  I 
must  now  think,  a  delusive  hope  that  the  stage,  under  cer 
tain  regulations,  might  be  converted  into  a  school  of  virtue 
— that  though  a  bad  play  would  always  be  a  bad  thing, 
yet  the  representation  of  a  good  one  might  become  not 
only  harmless,  but  useful.  On  these  grounds  I  attempted 
some  theatrical  compositions,  which,  whatever  other  defects 
might  be  justly  imputed  to  them,  should  at  least  have 
been  written  on  the  side  of  virtue  and  modesty,  and  which 
should  neither  hold  out  any  corrupt  image  to  the  mind  or 
any  impure  description  to  the  Ikncy." 

Are  not  then  good  plays  harmless,  nay,  improving  ? 

"  There  will  still  remain,  even  in  tragedies,"  she  replies, 
"  otherwise  the  most  unexceptionable,  provided  they  are 
sufficiently  impassioned  to  produce  a  powerful  effect  on 
the  feelings,  and  have  spirit  enough  to  deserve  to  become 


72  HANNAHMORE. 

popular,  an  essential,  radical  defect.  What  I  insist  on  is, 
that  there  almost  inevitably  runs  through  the  whole  web 
of  the  tragic  drama,  a  prominent  thread  of  false  principle. 
It  is  generally  the  leading  object  of  the  poet  to  erect  a 
standard  of  honor,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  standard  of 
Christianity.  Worldly  honor  is  the  very  soul,  and  spirit, 
and  life-giving  principle  of  the  drama.  It  is  her  moral  and 
political  law.  Fear  and  shame  are  the  capital  crimes  in 
her  code.  Love,  jealousy,  hatred,  ambition,  pride,  revenge, 
are  too  often  elevated  into  the  rank  of  splendid  virtues, 
and  form  a  dazzling  system  of  worldly  morality  in  direct 
contradiction  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  The  fruits  of  the 
Spirit  and  the  fruits  of  the  stage,  if  the  parallel  were  fol 
lowed  up,  would  exhibit  as  pointed  a  contrast  as  human 
imagination  could  conceive." 

What !  must  the  merits  of  every  play  be  tried  by  the 
Ten  Commandments  ? 

"  We  may  at  least  venture  to  answer,  that  they  should 
contain  nothing  hostile  to  them.  If  harmless  merriment 
be  not  expected  to  advance  our  moral  improvement,  we 
must  take  care  that  it  do  not  oppose  it ;  for  if  we  concede 
that  our  amusements  are  not  expected  to  make  us  better 
than  we  are,  ought  we  not  to  be  careful  that  they  do  not 
make  us  worse  than  they  find  us  ?  Whatever  pleasantry 


£  U  N  I V  *•',&  oIT  T 


ON     THEATRICAL     AMUSEMENTS.  73 

of  idea,  or  gayety  of  sentiment  we  admit,  should  we  not 
jealously  watch  against  any  unsoundness  in  the  general 
principle,  or  mischief  in  the  prevailing  tendency  ?" 

But  what  essential  difference  is  there  between  reading 
a  play  and  seeing  it  acted ;  surely  one  would  not  object  to 
reading  dramatic  composition  ? 

"I  think  there  is  a  substantial  difference,"  she  still 
argues,  "  between  seeing  and  reading  a  dramatic  composi 
tion,  and  that  the  objections  which  lie  so  strongly  against 
the  one,  are  not,  at  least  in  the  same  degree,  applicable  to 
the  other.  While  there  is  an  essential  and  inseparable 
danger  attendant  on  dramatic  exhibitions,  the  danger  in 
reading  a  play  arises  solely  from  the  improper  sentiments 
contained  in  it.  It  is  the  semblance  of  real  action  which 
is  given  to  the  piece  by  different  persons  supporting  the 
different  parts,  and  by  their  dress,  tones,  and  gestures, 
heightening  the  representation  into  a  kind  of  enchantment. 
It  is  the  pageantry,  the  splendor  of  the  spectacle,  and  even 
the  show  of  the  spectators,  these  are  the  circumstances 
which  fill  the  theatre,  produce  the  effect,  and  create  the 
danger.  These  give  a  pernicious  force  to  sentiments, 
which,  when  read,  may  merely  explain  the  mysterious 
action  of  the  human  heart,  but  which,  when  thus  uttered 
and  accompanied,  become  contagious  and  destructive. 


74  HANNAH      MOR  E. 

These,  in  short,  make  up  a  scene  of  temptation  and  seduc 
tion,  of  over-wrought  voluptuousness  and  unnerving  pleas 
ure,  which  ill  accords  with  a  desire  to  be  enlightened  by 
the  doctrines,  or  governed  by  the  principles  of  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ." 

But  may  not  the  stage  become  purified,  so  as  to  render 
it  at  least  harmless  and  unobjectionable  ? 

"  What  the  stage  might  be  under  another  and  an  imagi 
nary  state  of  things,  it  is  not  very  easy  for  us  to  know,  and 
therefore,  not  very  important  to  inquire.  Nor  is  it  the 
soundest  logic  to  argue  on  the  possible  goodness  of  a  thing, 
which,  in  the  present  circumstances  of  society,  is  doing 
positive  evil,  from  the  imagined  good  that  thing  might  be 
conjectured  to  produce  in  a  supposed  state  of  unattainable 
improvement ;  for  unfortunately  nothing  can  be  done  until 
not  only  the  stage  itself  has  undergone  complete  purifica 
tion,  but  until  the  audience  shall  be  purified  also.  We 
must  first  suppose  a  state  of  society  in  which  the  specta 
tors  will  be  disposed  to  relish  all  that  is  pure,  and  to  rep 
robate  all  that  is  corrupt,  before  the  system  of  a  pure  and 
uncorrupt  theatre  can  be  adopted  with  any  reasonable 
hope  of  success ;  there  must  always  be  a  harmony  between 
the  taste  of  the  spectator  and  the  nature  of  the  spectacle, 


ON     THEATRICAL     AMUSEMENTS.  75 

in  order  to  produce  pleasure,  for  people  go  to  a  play  not  to 
be  instructed,  but  to  be  amused." 

Let  every  thoughtful  parent,  doubting  Christian,  or 
tempted  youth,  read  carefully,  and  ponder  seriously  theso 
positions.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  question  in  Christian  edu 
cation  more  difficult  to  settle  than  what  amusements  aro 
safe  for  our  children,  or  what  recreations  the  young  Chris 
tian,  away  from  the  restraints  and  pastimes  of  home,  may 
engage  in  with  safety  to  himself  and  honor  to  his  Divine 
Master. 

We  would  point  the  latter  to  those  principles  laid  down 
to  Wesley  by  his  mother :  "  Whatever  weakens  your 
reason,  impairs  the  tenderness  of  your  conscience,  obscures 
your  sense  of  God,  or  takes  off  the  relish  of  spiritual  things, 
— in  short,  whatever  increases  the  strength  and  authority 
of  your  body  over  your  mind,  that  thing  is  sin  to  you, 
however  innocent  it  may  be  iu  itself." 

And  yet  you  may  be  placed  amid  influences,  which, 
for  a  time,  may  blind  your  judgment,  and  persuade  you 
from  your  steadfastness  :  you  find  yourself  overpowered  by 
plausible  reasoning,  which  you  cannot  readily  meet,  and 
because  you  cannot  meet  it,  you  are  tempted  to  yield. 
You  are  not  unlikely  to  find  yourself  thus  perplexed  :  what 


76  HANNAH      MORE. 

shall  you  do  ?  Shall  you  yield  without  hearty  conviction, 
in  deference  merely  to  the  skill  or  sneer  of  your  compan 
ions  ? 

What  shall  you  do  ?  Refer  to  the  example  of  intelligent 
men  and  women,  eminent  for  holiness  :  how  have  devoted 
servants  of  God  viewed  the  subject  ?  What  has  been  the 
Christian  apprehension  of  the  church  upon  the  matter  ?  It 
is  of  no  great  consequence  whether  you  understand  or  not 
the  train  of  thought  or  course  of  argument  by  which  their 
minds  were  made  up  and  their  conduct  directed ;  you 
have  no  time,  it  may  be,  to  examine  them  if  you  would ; 
it  is  enough  to  know  how  they  acted,  and  that  it  will  be 
safe  and  wise  to  imitate  their  example. 

Do  not  hesitate  to  lean  upon  an  argument  like  this,  in 
harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  no 
sign  of  weakness  to  take  counsel  of  the  matured  judgments 
of  Christian  experience,  or  of  growth  and  manliness  to  dis 
regard  them. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


HAMPTON,  1780. 

"  I  WISH  you  a  merry  Christmas  as  well  as  a  happy 
New  Year,  but  that  I  hate  the  word  merry  as  so  applied  ; 
it  is  a  fitter  epithet  for  a  bacchanalian  than  a  Christian  fes 
tival,  and  seems  an  apology  for  idle  mirth  and  injurious 
excess,  What  frost  !  what  snow  !  The  vast  expanse  of 
glittering  white  on  the  ground,  the  fluid  brilliants  dropping 
from  the  trees,  and  the  green-house  full  of  beautiful  blos 
soms  and  oranges,  make  it  altogether  look  like  some 
region  of  enchantment  ;  and  as  the  gravel  walks  are  all 
swept  clean,  I  parade  an  hour  or  two  every  morning." 

1781. 

"  If  I  commit  any  sin  here  or  do  any  good  here,  it  must 
be  in  thought,  for  our  words  are  few  and  our  deeds  not  at 
all.  Poor  Hermes  Harris  is  dead  !  Everybody  is  dead,  I 
think  —  one  is  almost  ashamed  of  being  alive  !  That  you 
may  not  think  I  pass  my  time  quite  idly,  I  must  tell  you 
7* 


78  H  A  N  N  A  II      M  O  R  E. 

that  I  had  begun  Belshazzar ;  I  like  the  subject,  and  have 
made  some  progress  in  it.  But  that  and  all  my  other  oc 
cupations  have  given  way  to  the  melancholy  employment 
of  reading  over  with  Mrs.  Garrick  all  the  private  letters  of 
the  dear  deceased  master  of  this  melancholy  mansion. 
The  employment,  though  sad,  is  not  without  its  amuse 
ment  ;  it  is  reading  the  friendly  correspondence  of  all  the 
men  who  have  made  a  figure  in  the  annals  of  business  or 
of  literature  for  the  last  forty  years  ;  for  I  think  I  hardly 
miss  a  name  of  eminence  in  Great  Britain,  and  not  many 
in  France ;  it  includes  also  all  his  answers,  some  of  the  first 
wits  in  the  country  confessing  their  obligations  over  and 
over  again  to  his  bounty  ;  money  given  to  some,  and  lent 
to  such  numbers  as  would  be  incredible  if  one  did  not  read 
it  in  their  own  letters.  It  is  not  the  least  instructive  part 
of  this  employment  to  consider  where  almost  all  these 
great  men  are  now  !  the  play-writers,  where  are  they  ?  and 
the  poets,  are  their  fires  extinguished  ?  Did  Lord  Bath,  or 
Bishop  Warburton,  or  Lord  Chatham,  or  Goldsmith,  or 
Churchill,  or  Chesterfield,  trouble  themselves  with  think 
ing  that  the  heads  that  dictated  those  bright  epistles 
would  so  soon  be  laid  low  ?  Did  they  imagine  that  such 
a  nobody  as  I  am,  whom  they  would  have  disdained  to 
f 


CORRESPONDENCE.  79 

have  reckoned  '  with  the  clogs  of  their  flock,'  should  have 
had  the  arranging  and  disposing  of  them  ?" 

LONDON,  April,  1781. 

"  I  was  last  Monday  at  a  meeting  at  the  Bishop  of  St. 
Asaphs,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  a  vast  deal  of  snug  chat 
with  the  Bishop,  Mr.  Walpole,  Mrs.  Montagu,  and  Mrs. 
Carter. 

Mrs.  Kennicott  tells  me  Bishop  Lowth  insists  upon  my 
publishing  "  Sensibility,"  and  all  my  other  poems  together, 
immediately,  that  people  may  have  them  all  together. 
The  Dean  of  Gloucester  has  sent  me  his  book  against 
Locke,  splendidly  bound. 

On  Friday  I  dined  at  Mrs.  Boscaweri's.  We  had  a 
snug  day  and  a  deal  of  that  social,  cordial  chat  that  is  so 
preferable  to  all  the  mummery  of  great  parties. 

Tuesday  we  were  a  small  and  choice  party  at  Bishop 
Shipley's.  Lord  and  Lady  Spencer,  Lord  and  Lady  Al- 
thorpe,  Sir  Joshua,  Boswell,  Gibbon,  and  to  my  agreeable 
surprise,  Dr.  Johnson. 

Mrs.  Garrick  and  he  had  never  met  since  her  bereave 
ment.  Johnson  came  to  see  us  the  next  morning,  and 
made  us  a  long  visit.  On  Mrs.  Garrick's  telling  him  she 
was  always  more  at  ease  with  persons  who  had  suffered 


80  HANNAH     MORE. 

the  same  loss  with  herself,  he  said  that  was  a  comfort  she 
could  seldom  have,  considering  the  superiority  of  his  merit 
and  the  cordiality  of  their  union.  He  bore  his  strong  tes 
timony  of  the  liberality  of  Garrick.  He  reproved  me  with 
pretended  sharpness  for  reading  Pascal  or  any  of  the  Port 
Royal  authors,  alleging,  that  as  a  good  Protestant,  I  ought 
to  abstain  from  books  written  by  Catholics.  I  was  begin 
ning  to  stand  upon  my  defence,  when  he  took  me  with 
both  hands,  and  with  a  tear  running  down  his  cheeks, 
*  Child,'  said  he,  with  the  most  affecting  earnestness,  '  I 
am  heartily  glad  that  you  read  pious  books,  by  whomso 
ever  they  may  be  written.'  " 

"On "Monday  we  had  a  farewell  party  at  Mrs.  Vesey's, 
where  we  were  a  little  sad  to  think  how  many  of  us  might 
never  meet  again,  particularly  poor  Mrs.  Vesey  herself, 
who  is  going  to  Ireland  at  an  advanced  age,  and  in  bad 
health." 

"  On  Tuesday,  Mrs.  Boscawen  carried  me  to  Glanvilla ; 
we  had  the  pleasantest  tete-a-tete  day  imaginable,  and 
walked  about  and  sat  under  the  spreading  oak,  and  eat 
our  cold  chicken,  and  drank  our  tea,  as  happy  folks  are 
wont  to  do." 

In  June,  Miss  More  returned  to  her  sisters,  taking  Mrs. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  81 

Garrick  with  her,  who  remained  a  month  at  Bristol. 
Hannah  stayed  until  December,  when  she  again  took  up 
her  abode  in  her  friend's  family. 

Sensibility,  a  short  poem,  which  a  good  critic  of  our 
own  day  declares  "  should  be  printed  in  letters  of  gold," 
had  been  passed  around  in  manuscript  among  her  friends, 
at  whose  repeated  and  urgent  request  it  was  now  pub 
lished,  in  company  with  four  sacred  dramas.  The  poem 
was  addressed  to  her  friend,  Mrs.  Boscawen,  and  thus 
gracefully  opens  : — 

"  Accept,  Boscawan  !   these  unpolished  lays, 
Nor  blame  too  much  the  verse  you  cannot  praise. 
For  you  far  other  bards  have  waked  the  string, 
Far  other  bards  for  you  were  wont  to  sing : 
Yet  on  the  gale  their  parting  music  steals, 
Yet  your  charmed  car  the  lov'd  impression  feels  ; 
You  hear  the  lyres  of  Littleton  and  Young, 
And  this  a  grace  and  that  a  seraph  strung." 

"  What  says  my  dear  Miss  More  ?"  writes  she,  from  Glan- 
villa,  on  learning  that  her  name  was  in  the  golden  touch 
of  the  poet ;  "  that  she  has  addressed  her  charming  poem 
of  '  Sensibility'  to  one  who  has  not  a  grain  of  that  pleas 
ing,  painful  quality  ;  and  that,  if  she  ever  writes  upon  stu- 


82  II  A  N  N  A  II     M  O  R  E. 

pidity,  she  will  with  more  propriety  direct  to  the  same 
quarter." 

And  still  later.  "They  are  come  out!  the  books  I 
mean ;  I  have  found  them  just  now  in  the  hall,  a  packet 
from  Mr.  Cadell :  I  had  them  brought  up.  '  I  put  in  my 
thumb  and  pulled  out  a  plumb  :'  viz.,  I  drew  out  one  all 
sewed  in  yellow,  as  I  directed,  and  while  Ayre  is  carefully 
cutting  the  leaves,  I  sit  down  to  write  to  the  founder  of  the 
feast." 

On  the  feast  the  founder  herself  writes  to  her  sisters — 

"The  word  sacred  in  the  title  is  a  damper  in  the 
dramas.  It  is  tying  a  mill-stone  about  the  neck  of  Sensi 
bility,  which  will  drown  them  both  together.  I  was  one 
night  at  a  large  Blue  Stocking  party,  at  the  Bishop  of  St. 
Asaph's — all  the  old  set  were  there,  which  sickness  and 
death  have  spared. 

"Bishop  Lowth  has  just  finished  the  Dramas,  and  sent 
me  word,  that  although  I  have  paid  him  the  most  swin 
ging  compliment  he  ever  received,  he  likes  the  whole  book 
more  than  he  can  say.  But  the  Bishop  of  Chester's  com 
pliment  is  more  solid'  he  said  he  thought  it  would  do 
a  vast  deal  of  good — and  that  is  the  praise  best  worth 
having." 

"  Mrs.   Montagu,    Ghapone,    and    Carter,    are    mightily 


CORRESPONDENCE.  83 

pleased,  that  I  have  attacked  that  mock  feeling  and  sensi 
bility,  which  is  at  once  the  boast  and  disgrace  of  these 
times,  and  which  is  equally  deficient  in  taste  and  truth. 
Ask  Dr.  Stonehouse  if  he  has  read  "  Cardiphonia,"  by 
Mr.  Newton,  of  Olney.  There  is  in  it  much  vital  religion, 
and  much  of  the  experience  of  a  good  Christian,  who  feels 
and  laments  his  own  imperfections  and  weaknesses.  1 
have  just  finished  six  volumes  of  Jortin's  sermons ;  elegant, 
but  cold  and  very  low  in  doctrine — 'plays  round  the 
head,  but  comes  not  to  the  heart' — Cardiphonia  does;  I 
like  it  much,  though  not  every  sentiment  or  expression 
that  it  contains." 

"On  Monday,  I  was  at  a  very  great  assembly  at  the 
Bishop  of  St.  Asaph's.  Conceive  to  yourself  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  people  met  together,  dressed  in 
the  extremity  of  fashion ;  painted  as  red  as  bacchanals ; 
poisoning  the  air  with  perfumes  ;  treading  on  each  other's 
gowns ;  making  the  crowd  they  blame ;  not  one  in  ten 
able  to  get  a  chair;  protesting  they  are  engaged  to  ten 
other  places,  and  lamenting  the  fatigue  they  are  not 
obliged  to  endure;  ten  or  a  dozen  card-tables  crammed 
with  dowagers  of  quality,  grave  ecclesiastics,  and  yellow 
admirals  ;  and  you  have  an  idea  of  an  assembly.  I  never 


84  II  A  N  N  A  II      M  O  R  E. 

go  to  sucli  things  when  I  can  possibly  avoid  it,  and  stay, 
when  there,  as  few  minutes  as  I  can." 

LONDON,   1782. 

"Poor  Johnson  is  in  quite  a  bad  state  of  health  :  I  fear 
his  constitution  is  broken  up ;  I  am  quite  grieved  at  it ;  he 
will  not  leave  an  abler  defender  of  religion  and  virtue  be 
hind  him,  and  the  following  little  touch  of  tenderness 
which  I  heard  of  him  last  night  from  one  of  the  Turk's 
Head  Club,  endears  him  to  me  exceedingly.  There  are 
always  a  great  many  candidates  ready,  when  any  vacancy 
happens  in  that  club,  and  it  requires  no  small  interest  and 
reputation  to  get  elected ;  but,  upon  Garrick's  death,  when 
numberless  applications  were  made  to  succeed  him,  Johnson 
was  deaf  to  them  all ;  he  insisted  there  should  be  a  year's 
widowhood  in  the  club  before  they  thought  of  any  new 
election.  In  Dr.  Johnson  some  contrarieties  harmoniously 
meet;  if  he  has  too  little  chanty  for  the  opinions  of  others, 
and  too  little  patience  with  their  faults,  he  has  the  greatest 
tenderness  for  their  persons.  He  told  me,  the  other  day, 
he  hated  to  hear  people  whine  about  metaphysical  dis 
tresses,  when  there  were  so  much  want  and  hunger  in  the 
world." 

"  Mrs.  Carter  and  I  met  at  a  little  breakfast-party  with 


CORRESPONDENCE.  85 

a  French  lady,  who  writes  metaphysical  books.  We  got 
into  disgrace  by  saying  that  a  little  common  sense  and  a 
little  scripture  would  lead  one  much  farther  and  safer  than 
volumes  of  metaphysics.  She  forgave  us,  however,  on 
condition  we  would  read  two  huge  quartos  which  she  had 
just  translated.  What  Mrs.  Carter  will  do,  I  know  not, 
but  I  shall  certainly  never  fulfil  my  part  of  the  contract." 

Tn  June  Hannah  makes  a  summer  flitting  to  the  Ken- 
nicott's,  at  Oxford,  where  she  met  Dr.  Johnson,  sad,  sick, 
and  disconsolate,  suffering  deeply  from  the  manifold  infir 
mities  of  life. 

The  death  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Thrale,  which  had  occurred 
the  year  before,  whose  generous  hospitality  had  cheered 
his  heart  and  alleviated  his  sufferings,  and  whose  eye  for 
fifteen  years,  as  Johnson  tenderly  says,  "had  scarcely  been 
turned  upon  him,  but  with  respect  and  tenderness,"  had 
left  a  void,  which  even  the  multiplied  resources  of  his  inner 
and  outer  life  had  failed  to  fill  up;  "and  such  another 
friend,  the  general  course  of  human  things  will  not  suffer 
man  to  hope,"  he  mournfully  adds,  "  In  our  walk  through 
life,  we  have  dropped  our  companions,  and  are  now  to  pick 
up  such  as  chance  may  offer  to  us,  or  travel  alone.  As  the 
long  shadows  of  age  and  ill  health  crept  over  his  path,  Dr. 
Johnson  felt  the  want  of  those  home  affections,  which  are 


86  l-IANNAHMOtt  E. 

our  best  earthly  heritage,  and  which,  when  the  busy  inter 
ests  of  early  and  middle  life  are  over,  bear  us  gently  and 
patiently  in  their  bosom  to  our  final  rest. 

In  a  journey  to  Oxford,  at  this  time,  undertaken  for  the 
benefit  of  his  health  and  spirits,  the  Doctor  met  Miss  More, 
who,  grieved  at  his  wan  and  dejected  appearance,  made 
every  effort  to  beguile  him  from  his  sufferings.  The  mem 
ory  of  early  days  quickened  the  old  man.  Eloquent,  as  in 
her  company  he  retraced  the  haunts  of  his  college  com 
panions  ;  on  entering  a  hall,  a  fine  large  print  of  Johnson, 
handsomely  framed,  stared  upon  the  party  from  the  oppo 
site  wall,  with  the  appended  motto, 
• 
"AND  is  NOT  JOHNSON  OURS,  HIMSELF  A  HOST?" 

[From  Miss  More's  Sensibility.] 

A  pleasing  surprise  prepared  by  Dr.  Adams,  Master  of 
Pembroke,  for  his  distinguished  guests. 

The  Doctor  remained  but  a  short  time ;  a  few  beams 
from  the  light  of  early  years  shot  across  his  path,  but  they 
could  not  renew  the  warm  hopes  of  youth,  or  lighten  the 
infirmities  of  age. 

LONDON,  March,  1783. 

"  On  Friday  I  was  at  a  very  fine  party  at  Lady  Rothes', 
where  T  found  a  vast  many  of  my  friends — Mrs.  Montagu, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  87 

Boscawen,  Carter,  Thrall,  Burney,  and  Lady  Dartry ;  in 
short,  it  was  remarked  that  there  was  not  a  woman  in 
London,  who  has  been  distinguished  for  taste  and  litera 
ture,  that  was  absent.  The  men  were  modest  and 
were  abashed,  the  other  sex  made  so  strong  a  party." 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  know  what  our  friend  Dr.  Stone- 
house  would  say  to  such  new-fashioned  doctrines  as  I  have 
lately  heard  in  a  charity  sermon  by  a  dignified  ecclesiastic, 
and  a  popular  one  too,  but  I  will  not  tell  his  name :  he 
told  the  rich  and  great  that  they  ought  to  be  extremely 
liberal  in  their  charities,  because  they  were  happily  ex 
empted  from  the  severer  virtues.  How  do  you  like  such  a 
sentiment  from  a  Christian  teacher  ?  What  do  you  think 
Poly  carp  or  Ignatius  would  say  to  it  ?" 

March  27. 

"  I  went  and  sat  the  other  morning  with  Dr.  Johnson, 
who  is  far  from  well.  Our  conversation  was  very  interest 
ing,  but  so  many  came  in  that  I  began  to  feel  foolish,  and 
soon  sneaked  off." 

May  5th. 

"  Saturday  we  had  a  dinner  at  home,  Mrs.  Carter,  Miss 
Hamilton,  the  Kennicotts,  and  Dr.  Johnson.  Poor  John 
son  exerted  himself  exceedingly,  but  he  was  very  ill,  and 


88  II  A  N  N  A  II      M  O  R  E. 

looked  so  dreadfully,  it  quite  grieved  me.  His  sickness 
seems  to  have  softened  his  mind,  without  at  all  weakening 
it.  We  had  but  a  small  party  of  such  of  his  friends  as  we 
knew  would  be  most  agreeable  to  him  ;  and  as  we  were  all 
very  attentive,  and  paid  him  the  homage  he  both  expects 
and  deserves,  he  was  very  communicative,  and  of  course 
instructive  and  delightful  in  the  highest  degree." 

May  22. 

"  A  visitor  is  just  gone,  quite  chagrined  that  I  am  such 
a  rigid  Methodist,  that  I  cannot  come  to  her  assembly  on 
Sunday,  -though  she  protests  with  great  piety,  that  she 
never  has  cards,  and  that  it  is  quite  savage  in  me  to  think 
there  can  be  any  harm  in  a  little  agreeable  music." 

While  Hannah  was  at  her  sisters'  in  Bristol,  during  1784, 
she  became  greatly  interested  for  a  poor  woman  in  the 
neighborhood,  who,  from  the  depth  of  famine  and  distress, 
had  exhibited  striking  poetic  talent.  On  a  minute  inquiry 
into  her  situation,  it  was  ascertained  that  she  could  only 
read  and  write.  Paradise  Lost,  Young's  Night  Thoughts, 
a  few  plays  of  Shakspeare,  and  the  Bible,  constituted  her 
small  stock  of  reading.  Having  given  her  some  rules  in 
the  art  of  writing,  Hannah  encouraged  her  to  prepare  a 
small  volume  of  poems,  to  aid  in  the  support  of  a  family 


CORRESPONDENCE.  89 

dependent  upon  her  exertions.  The  work  having  been 
completed,  she  enlisted  her  friends  in  its  publication.  "  I 
should  have  taken  as  much  pain  as  pleasure  in  the  fine 
stanzas  you  sent  me,"  responds  Mrs.  Montagu,  "  if  you 
had  not  at  the  same  time  assured  me  you  had  taken  care 
this  noble  creature  should  not  want  the  little  comforts  of 
life.  I  shall  most  joyfully  contribute  towards  procuring 
them  for  her — far,  far  away,  all  heathen  ethics  and  mythol 
ogy,  geometry,  and  algebra,  and  make  room  for  the  Bible 
and  Milton,  when  a  poet  is  to  be  made." 

Nearly  £500  were  raised  upon  the  book,  which  were 
placed  in  the  hands  of  trustees,  and  invested  in  the  public 
funds  for  the  use  of  herself  and  family  :  enraged  that  tho 
sum  was  not  placed  at  her  own  disposal,  she  turned 
against  her  benefactor  with  the  utmost  bitterness  of  spirit, 
and  accused  her  of  having  embezzled  it.  So  outrageous 
was  her  conduct,  that  no  one  would  hold  the  trust,  and  the 
money  fell  into  her  own  hands,  only  to  be  idly  squandered, 
and  she  died  at  last,  destitute  and  friendless.  Of  her  in 
gratitude,  Hannah  writes  to  Miss  Carter  :  "  I  grieve  for 
poor  fallen  human  nature ;  for  as  to  my  own  particular 
part,  I  am  persuaded  Providence  intends  me  good  by  it. 
Had  she  turned  out  well,  I  should  have  had  my  reward  ; 

as  it  is,  I  have  my  trial.     Perhaps  I  was  too  vain  of  my 
8* 


90  II  A  N  N  A  II      M  0  K  E. 

success,  and  in  counting  over  the  money,  might  be  elated 
and  think — Is  not  this  great  Babylon  that  /  have 
built?" 

Two  little  poems  which  had  been  passed  around  among 
her  friends  in  manuscript,  were  now  published,  The  Bas 
Bleu  and  Florio.  Florio,  a  pleasing  satire  on  men  and 
manners,  was  dedicated  to  Horace  Walpole :  "  It  is  a 
paltry  return,"  she  writes  to  him,  "  for  the  many  hours  of 
agreeable  information  and  elegant  amusement  which  I 
have  received  from  your  spirited  and  very  entertaining- 
writings,  and  yet  I  am  persuaded  you  will  receive  it  with 
favor,  as  a  small  offering  of  esteem  and  gratitude." 

The  Bas  Bleu,  a  little  poem,  already  mentioned,  com 
memorative  of  the  gatherings  which  bore  that  name,  was 
addressed  to  Mrs.  Vesey,  whose  celebrated  tact  in  break 
ing  up  the  formality  of  a  circle,  and  making  her  parties 
form  themselves  into  little  groups,  is  thus  sung  in  poetic 
numbers : 

"Small  were  thai  art  which  could  ensure 
The  circle's  boasted  quadrature ! 
See  Vesey's  plastic  genius  make 
A  circle  every  figure  take ; 
Nay,  shapes  and  forms  that  would  defy 
All  science  of  geometry; 


CORRESPONDENCE.  91 

Isosceles  and  parallel, 

Names  hard  to  speak  and  hard  to  spell; 

The  enchantress  waved  her  wand  and  spoke  1 

Her  potent  wand  the  circle  broke; 

The  social  spirits  hover  round, 

And  bless  the  liberated  ground. 

Ask  you  what  charms  this  gift  dispense  ? 

'Tis  the  strong  spell  of  common  sense. 

Away  dull  ceremony  flew, 

And  with  her  bore  Detraction  too." 

Another  of  Miss  More's  friends,  and  one  of  the  world's 
great  men,  was  now  drawing  near  to  the  grave.  "  Poor, 
dear  Johnson,"  she  writes,  "is  past  all  hope.  I  have, 
however,  the  comfort  to  hear  that  his  dread  of  dyingr  is  in 
a  great  measure  subdued.  lie  sent  the  other  day  for  Sir 
Joshua,  and  after  much  serious  conversation,  told  him  he 
had  three  favors  to  beg  of  him,  and  he  hoped  he  would 
not  refuse  a  dying  friend,  be  they  what  they  would.  Sir 
Joshua  promised.  The  first  was,  that  he  would  never 
paint  on  Sunday :  the  second,  that  he  would  give  him  £30 
that  he  had  lent  him,  as  he  wanted  to  leave  them  to  a 
distressed  family :  the  third,  that  he  would  read  the  Bible 
whenever  he  had  an  opportunity,  and  that  he  would  never 
omit  it  on  Sunday." 


02  H  A  N  N  A  H     M  O  R  E. 

How  august  and  solemn  are  the  closing  scenes  of  this 
dying  man!  He  is  styled  the  Moralist.  Justice,  truth, 
virtue — rough,  unhewn,  without  chisel  or  polish, — were  the 
pillars  of  his  character ;  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  he 
was  loyal  to  his  convictions  of  duty,  generous,  yet  plain- 
spoken  to  his  fellows,  reverent  towards  God.  Rich  in 
knowledge,  he  abused  it  not ;  rich  in  thought,  he  scattered 
its  treasures  like  dew-drops ;  rich  in  speech,  it  was  like  the 
golden  harvest :  in  the  wide  grasp  of  his  clear,  calm,  com 
prehensive  mind,  he  everywhere  discovered  a  moral  gov 
ernment,  and  recognized  a  righteous  governor:  his  con 
science,  unseared  by  passion  or  self-indulgence,  spoke 
solemnly,  and  was  heard  :  the  fear  of  God  was  upon  him  : 
but  now,  as  the  curtains  of  death  close  around  his  brave 
heart  and  unclouded  intellect,  he  lies  helpless,  wrestling  for 
hope,  panting  for  peace,  raising  his  eyes  with  a  fearful 
looking  for  of  judgment  into  the  eternal  world.  "  The 
approach  of  death  is  dreadful,"  he  exclaims.  "  I  am  afraid 
to  think  on  that  which  I  know  I  cannot  avoid.  It  is  vain 
to  look  round  and  round  for  that  help  which  cannot  be 
had,  yet  we  hope  and  hope,  and  fancy  that  he  who  has 
lived  to-day,  may  live  to-morrow.  No  wise  man  will  be 
contented  to  die,  if  he  thinks  he  is  going  into  a  state  of 
punishment.  Nay,  no  wise  man  will  be  contented  to  die, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  93 

if  he  thinks  he  is  to  fall  into  annihilation ;  for,  however 
unhappy  any  man's  existence  may  be,  yet  he  would  rather 
have  it  than  not  exist  at  all.  No  :  there  is  no  rational 
principle  by  which  a  man  can  die  contented,  but  a  trust  in 
the  mercy  of  God,  through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ." 

And  yet,  when  one  said  to  him  in  an  hour  of  gloomy 
despondency,  "you  forget  the  merits  of  your  Redeemer," 
he  replied  with  deep  solemnity,  "I  do  not  forget  the  merits 
of  my  Redeemer,  but  my  Redeemer  has  said,  He  will  set 
some  on  his  right  hand  and  some  on  his  left" 

"  What  man,"  he  asks,  with  mournful  distrust,  "  can  say 
that  his  obedience  has  been  such  as  he  could  approve  of  in 
another,  or  that  his  repentance  has  not  been  such  as  to 
require  being  repented  of  ?" 

"  Remember  what  you  have  done  by  your  writings  in 
defence  of  virtue  and  truth,"  urged  his  friends. 

"  Admitting  all  you  say  to  be  true,"  answered  the 
dying  hero,  "  how  can  I  tell  when  /  have  done  enough  ?" 

An  awful  question,  who  can  answer  it  ? 

At  last,  he  described  the  kind  of  clergyman  whom  he 
wished  to  see.  Mr.  Winston-ley  was  named,  and  a  note 
was  despatched  requesting  his  attendance  to  the  sick  man's 
chamber.  Through  ill-health  and  nervous  apprehension, 
the  clergyman  could  reply  only  in  writing.  "  Permit  me, 


94  II  A  N  N  A  H      M  0  R  E. 

therefore,"  ran  tlie  note,  "  to  write  what  I  should  wish  to 
say,  were  I  present.  I  can  easily  conceive  what  would  bo 
the  subjects  of  your  inquiry.  I  can  conceive  that  the  views 
of  yourself  have  changed  with  your  condition,  and  that  on 
the  near  approach  of  death,  what  you  considered  mere 
peccadilloes,  have  risen  into  mountains  of  guilt,  while  your 
best  actions  have  dwindled  into  nothing.  On  whichever 
side  you  look,  you  see  only  positive  transgression,  or  defect 
ive  obedience;  and  hence,  in  self-despair,  are  eagerly 
asking,  '  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?'  I  say  to  you  in 
the  language  of  the  Baptist,  '  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God.'  " 

"  Does  he  say  so  ?"  exclaimed  the  anxious  listener. 
"  Read  it  again,  Sir  John."  Upon  the  second  reading, 
Dr.  Johnson  declared, "  I  must  see  that  man,  write  again 
to  him." 

A  second  letter  was  the  reply,  enlarging  and  enforcing 
upon  the  subject  of  the  first :  "  These,  together  with  the 
conversation  of  a  pious  friend,  Mr.  Latrobe,  appear  to  have 
been  blessed  of  God,"  continues  one  in  a  letter  to  Hannah 
More,  "  in  bringing  this  great  man  to  a  renunciation  of 
self,  and  a  simple  reliance  on  Jesus  as  his  Saviour ;  thus 
also  communicating  to  him  that  peace  which  he  had  found 
the  world  could  not  give,  and  which,  when  the  world  was 
fading  from  his  view,  was  to  fill  the  void,  and  dissipate  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  95 

gloom  even  of  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  The  man 
whose  intellectual  powers  had  awed  all  around  him,  was  in 
turn  made  to  tremble,  when  the  period  arrived,  when  all 
knowledge  is  useless  and  vanishes  away,  except  the  knowl 
edge  of  the  true  God  and  of  Jesus  Christ  whom  he  has 
sent.  To  attain  this  knowledge,  this  giant  in  knowledge 
must  become  a  little  child.  The  man  looked  up  to  as  a 
prodigy  of  wisdom,  must  become  a  fool,  that  he  might  be 
wise." 

"  For  some  time  before  his  death,  all  his  fears  were 
calmed  and  absorbed  by  the  prevalence  of  his  faith  and 
his  trust  in  the  merit  and  propitiation  of  Jesus  Christ," 
testifies  Dr.  Brocklesby. 

"  My  dear  doctor,  believe  a  dying  man,"  exclaimed 
Johnson,  "  there  is  no  salvation  but  in  the  Lamb  of  God." 

"  How  delighted  should  I  be,"  said  Hannah  More,  "  to 
hear  the  dying  discourse  of  this  great  and  good  man,  es 
pecially  now  that  faith  has  subdued  his  fears." 

What  teaching  is  here  !  No  amount  of  outward  obedi 
ence,  neither  gift  of  mind  nor  greatness  of  character,  neither 
fair  fame  nor  good  works,  quench  the  restless  fears  and  dis 
tressing  doubts  which  fill  the  heart,  when  earthly  objects 
begin  to  fade  before  eternal  realities.  The  shrinking  soul 
dares  not  trust  itself;  those  things  in  which  it  delighted — 


96  HANNAH     MORE. 

the  old  walls  and  familiar  haunts,  the  green  earth  and 
pleasant  sunshine,  the  strong  limbs  and  kindly  warmth  of 
neighbors  and  friends,  well-earned  fame,  and  hard-wrought 
achievements,  the  well-known  and  dearly-cherished  envi 
ronment  of  its  earthly  tabernacle  is  passing  away :  passing 
away,  and  what  is  left  but  the  conscious  burden  of  frailty, 
of  short-coming,  of  guilt.  If  the  soul,  thus  abused  and 
abandoned,  becomes  lowly  and  trusting  as  the  little  child, 
it  hears  the  gracious  pleading  of  its  Saviour,  "  Come  unto 
me,  weary  and  heavy-laden  one,  and  I  will  give  you  rest. 
I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life."  Then  appear  .the 
perfectuess  and  sufficiency  of  redeeming  love.  "  Except  ye 
be  converted  and  become  as  a  little  child,  ye  cannot  enter 
the  kingdom  of  God." 

"  The  loftiness  of  man  shall  be  bowed  down,  and  the 
haughtiness  of  man  shall  be  laid  low,  and  the  Lord  alone 
shall  be  exalted  in  that  day." 


CHAPTER   VII. 


HITHERTO,  Miss  More  had  had  many  haunts  ;  she  had 
dwelt  in  the  hearts,  and  by  the  hearths  of  many  well- 
beloved  friends  :  sometimes  we  find  her  at  Sandleford 
Priory,  the  country  retreat  of  Mrs.  Montagu,  whose  neigh 
borhood  abounded  with  the  most  smiling  valleys,  the 
clearest  living  streams,  and  the  most  lovely  hanging  woods 
imaginable,  —  so  says  the  guest  :  her  winters  were  chiefly 
passed  between  the  Adelphi  and  Hampton,  which  is  "so 
clean,  so  green,  so  flowery,  so  bowery  :"  sometimes  she  is 
brushing  the  dust  off  the  blue  stockings  at  a  splendid  din 
ner  at  Strafford  Place,  or  at  a  quiet  evening  at  Berkley 
Square,  with  no  other  company  but  "  dear  Mrs.  Carter  ;" 
lastly,  she  is  nestling  with  the  sisterhood  at  Bristol.  This 
changeful  and  desultory  life,  as  it  seems  to  be,  was  neither 
aimless  nor  unimproved  ;  though  Miss  More  had  now 
nearly  reached  her  fortieth  year,  and  as  yet  had  produced 
little  but  a  few  poems,  whose  chief  attractions  were  their 
9 


98  HANNAHMORE. 

ioeal  and  personal  interest,  she  had  not  looked  idly  or  too 
fondly  on  the  diversified  scenes  of  men  and  manners  pass 
ing  around  her ;  from  these  ample  opportunities  of  under 
standing  the  moral  defects  of  English  society,  she  was 
marshalling  her  facts  and  strengthening  those  principles 
which  enabled  her  afterwards  to  speak  so  powerfully  and 
successfully  in  the  parlors  and  palaces  of  England. 

The  death  of  Garrick  had  deeply  impressed  her  earnest 
and  thoughtful  mind.  It  made  an  abrupt  and  solemn 
pause  in  her  social  and  intellectual  enjoyments.  His 
taste  and  genius,  his  sympathy  and  interest,  delighted  and 
dazzled  her.  Her  literary  tastes  were  banqueted ;  the 
amplest  opportunities  to  enlarge  and  cultivate  her  powers, 
were  placed  at  her  disposal,  and  more  than  all,  she  is  en 
couraged  by  one  so  gifted  in  the  drama,  to  enter  that  field 
of  literature,  towards  which  she  seems  to  have  had  a 
strong  and  early  bias :  nay,  she  had  entered  the  lists,  and 
Percy  had  been  crowned  with  laurels. 

Garrick  died ;  it  was  the  first  death  in  the  brilliant 
circle  which  had  first  welcomed  her  to  London,  and  it  left 
a  void  never  to  be  filled.  In  the  long  shadow  which  it 
cast  over  his  home  and  haunts,  Hannah  sat  and  thought. 
She  saw  the  fashion  of  the  world,  with  its  pomps  and 
praises,  passing  away.  Could  these  satisfy  the  hungerings 


COW  SLIP     GREEN.  99 

of  the  soul  ?  What  was  that  greater  good,  worthy  of  the 
consecrated  energies  of  the  whole  heart  ?  She  felt  deep 
within  her,  that  it  was  not  all  of  life  to  live,  nor  all  of 
death  to  die :  a  conviction  that  life  had  a  wider  sphere, 
nobler  motives,  higher  aims,  and  more  exalted  hopes,  than 
literary  ambition  or  intellectual  enjoyments  could  impart, 
fastened  itself  upon  her.  She  saw  accountability  to  God, 
written  as  with  a  pen  of  fire  upon  her  time  and  talents. 
In  the  devout  solitude  of  her  closet,  her  solemnized  spirit 
holds  communion  with  eternal  realities ;  all  earthly  things 
seem  paltry  and  worthless,  compared  with  the  favor  of 
God  ;  she  inquires,  with  serious  earnestness,  what  is  es 
sential  to  duty  and  acceptance  in  Jesus  Christ ;  what  are 
the  laws  of  holy  living  prescribed  in  his  gospel ;  how  can 
the  authority  of  conscience  be  maintained  amid  the  con 
flicts  of  passion,  of  sense,  and  of  worldly  engagements  ; 
how  run  the  Christian  race  ;  how  win  the  heavenly  prize  ? 
The  higher  life  of  the  soul  began  to  dawn  upon  her. 

"I  have  naturally  a  small  appetite  for  grandeur,"  she 
says,  "  which  is  always  satisfied,  even  to  indigestion,  before 
I  leave  town,  and  I  require  a  long  abstinence  to  get  any 
relish  for  it  again ;  yet,  I  repeat,  there  are  very  agreeable 
people,  but,  there  is  dress,  there  is  restraint,  there  is  want 


100  HANNAH     MORE. 

of  leisure,  to  which  I  find  it  more  difficult  to  conform  for 
any  length  of  time — and  life  is  short" 

One  thing  which  greatly  aided  her  in  maintaining  an 
habitual  thoughtful  ness  of  mind,  amid  the  giddy  disregard 
of  sacred  things  in  much  of  the  society  in  which  she  mixed, 
was  her  strict  observance  of  holy  time.  The  Sabbath  was 
always  to  her  a  day  of  rest ;  rest  from  society,  from  visit 
ing,  from  all  worldly  occupations  and  engagements  :  she 
used  it,  as  designed  to  be  used  by  its  great  author,  a  day 
of  religious  improvement,  a  means  of  holy  living,  sacred  to 
God  and  eternal  things.  Wherever  she  was,  in  whatever 

O  " 

company  she  happened  to  be,  she  was  never  afraid  of  ap 
pearing  singular,  singular  as  it  often  did  appear,  by  a  de 
vout  and  respectful  observance  of  the  Lord's  day. 

"  You  know  I  often  told  you,"  she  wrote  home,  while  a 
resident  at  the  Adelphi,  "  that  Sunday  is  not  only  my  day 
of  rest,  but  enjoyment ;  I  go  twice  to  the  churches  where  I 
expect  the  best  preaching,  frequently  at  St.  Clement's,  to 
hear  my  excellent  friend  Burrows.  Mrs.  Garrick  declines 
asking  company  on  Sunday  on  my  account,  so  that  I  enjoy 
the  whole  day  to  myself.  After  my  more  select  reading,  I 
attack  South,  Atterbury,  and  Warburton.  In  these  great 
geniuses  and  original  thinkers,  I  see  many  passages  of 
Scripture  presented  in  a  strong  and  striking  light.  I  think 


COWSLIP     GREEN.  101 

it  right  to  mix  their  learned  labors  with  the  devout  effu 
sions  of  more  spiritual  writers,  Baxter,  Doddridge,  Hop 
kins,  Jeremy  Taylor  (the  Shakspeare  of  divinity),  and  the 
profound  Barrow  in  turn.  I  devour  much,  but  I  fear 
digest  little.  In  the  evening,  I  read  a  sermon  and  prayers 
to  the  family,  which  Mrs.  Garrick  likes  much." 

Miss  More  had  for  some  time  gradually  contracted  her 
circle  of  acquaintance,  confining  her  visits  to  smaller  assem 
blies  and  choicer  friends. 

"  I  have  kept  my  resolution,"  she  says,  "  to  avoid  great 
crowds,  except  when  I  have  been  snared  into  one,  under 
the  alluring  name  of  a  little  private  party,  into  which  trap 
I  have  fallen  several  times.  On  Saturday  I  got  a  sober 
day  at  Mrs.  Montagu's,  with  only  the  Smelts',  and  we  all 
agreed  we  had  not  been  more  comfortable  for  a  long  time ; 
and  yet  people  rarely  have  the  sense  or  courage  to  do 
these  things,  but  must  still  meet  in  herds  and  flocks." 

She  now  began  to  yearn  for  a  home  of  her  own,  where 
she  could  enjoy  undisturbed  retirement,  hedged  in  from 
the  great  world,  to  pursue  her  course  of  thought,  of  read 
ing,  and  of  occupation,  more  in  harmony  with  the  natural 
simplicity  of  her  tastes,  and  the  progressive  development  of 
her  religious  character.  When  her  purpose  of  doing  so 
became  known,  the  notion  was  assailed  by  ridicule  and 


102  HANNAH      MORE. 

reasoning,  and  not  a  few  agreed  in  her  speedy  and  perma 
nent  return  to  London  and  Bristol. 

In  spite  of  forebodings  and  dissuasives,  Miss  More,  at 
length,  fixed  upon  a  small  establishment  in  the  parish  of 
Wrington,  ten  miles  from  Bristol,  and  so  secluded  from 
the  hum  of  the  great  world  as  to  be  unvisited  even  by 
the  post.  Here  is  a  thatched  roof  cottage,  the  prettiest  little 
hermitage  that  can  be  ;  flowers  edge  the  walks  and  fringe 
the  green  lawn,  which  slopes  gently  towards  the  south,  di 
versified  by  groups  of  shrubbery  here  and  there,  tastefully 
arranged,  pleasing  to  the  eye,  and  affording  a  refreshing- 
shade  from  the  noon-tide  heats.  Beyond,  in  the  dusky 
distance,  rises  the  Mendip  Ridge,  bold  and  grand.  Behold 
Cowslip  Green ;  Horace  Walpole  calls  it  a  cousin  to 
Strawberry-Hill — a  country  cousin,  one  fancies. 

"  I  am  fitting  up  a  tiny  boudoir  at  Cowslip  Green," 
says  the  new  mistress  of  the  cottage,  "  which  I  intend 
shall  contain  no  literature  but  the  offerings  of  kindness  : 
by  this  means,  my  imagination  will  convert  my  little 
closet  into  a  temple  of  friendship  ;  and  when  the  weather 
is  bad,  or  my  spirits  low,  what  a  cordial  it  will  be  to  fancy 
that  I  am  loved  and  esteemed  by  so  many  amiable  and 
worthy  people  as  there  have  contributed  to  my  instruction 
and  delight !" 


COWSLIP     GREEN.  103 

"  What  book  shall  I  send  ?"  asks  Mr.  Pepys,  one  of  her 
friends  and  favorites.  "To  send  you  a  skimming-dish 
or  fish-kettle  towards  setting  up  house-keeping  would  be 
making  too  little  distinction  between  you  and  the  next 
good  housewife  in  the  parish ;  but  if  you  would  be  so 
good  as  to  tell  me  any  pleasant  companion,  who  is  not  al 
ready  of  your  party,  I  should  have  particular  pleasure  in 
sending  him,  and  should  be  very  much  flattered  with  the 
idea,  that  on  some  lonely  evening  he  might  recall  me  to 
your  memory." 

"I  am  mightily  at  a  loss,"  she  humorously  replies, 
"  what  book  you  will  send.  What  think  you  of  a  cook 
book  ?  No !  that  won't  do  either,  for  it  will  introduce 
sauces  and  luxury,  and  all  manner  of  cunningly  devised 
dishes,  and  extravagant  inventions  into  a  little  cottage 
devoted  to  simplicity,  and  from  which  aspiring  thoughts 
and  luxurious  desires  are  to  be  entirely  excluded.  I 
should  beg  a  wooden  dish  and  maple  spoon,  but  that  it 
is  pleasanter  to  one's  friends  to  be  remembered  in  one's 
more  intellectual  hours.  Pray  take  notice,  it  must  not  be 
a  fine,  new  look,  out  of  the  shop ;  that  would  destroy  the 
charm,  which  lies  in  this,  that  the  book  must  be  trans 
planted  from  the  library  of  a  friend." 

She  afterwards  wrote  to  the  same  gentleman  :  "  After 


104  HANNAH      MORE, 

living  melodious  days  with  Mrs.  Montagu,  the  nightingales 
and  Spenser,  I  have  now  been  quietly  set  down  in  my  cot 
tage  a  month,  and  the  evil  days  have  not  come,  wherein 
you  barbarously  prophesied  that  I  should  feel  a  joy  even 
to  see  the  apothecary  ride  up  to  the  door, — though  it  is 
certain  I  never  do  see  him  without  thinking  of  you.  I  do 
not  express  myself  very  accurately  when  I  talk  of  living 
quietly ;  for,  in  truth,  my  neighbors  are  so  kind,  and  so 
many  people  have  brought  themselves  into  the  description, 
that  I  am  far  from  enjoying  that  perfect  retreat,  which  I 
had  figured  to  myself.  I  work  in  my  garden  all  the  morn 
ing,  and  ride  in  the  evening  through  delicious  lanes  and 
hills :  my  most  serious  studies  have  been  a  little  book  of 
Mrs.  Trimmer's,  that  wise  and  pleasant  friend  of  little  chil 
dren, — it  is  a  most  delectable  history  of  Robin  Red- 
Breast." 

In  relation  to  the  temptations  which  clogged  her 
spiritual  progress,  and  disquieted  her  spirit  in  the  new 
home  which  she  had  chosen,  she  thus  expresses  herself,  to 
Rev.  John  Newton  : — 

"  The  care  of  my  garden  gives  me  employment,  health, 
and  spirits.  I  want  to  know,  dear  sir,  if  it  is  peculiar  to 
myself  to  form  ideal  plants  of  perfect  virtue,  and  to  dream 
of  all  manner  of  imaginary  goodness  in  untried  circum- 


COWSLIP     GREEN.  105 

stances,  while  one  neglects  the  immediate  duties  of  one's 
actual  situation  ?  Do  I  make  myself  understood  ?  I  have 
always  fancied,  that  if  I  could  secure  to  myself  such  a 
quiet  retreat  as  I  have  now  really  accomplished,  I  should 
be  wonderfully  good ;  that  I  should  have  leisure  to  store 
my  mind  with  such  and  such  maxims  of  wisdom  ;  that 
I  should  be  safe  from  such  and  such  temptations ;  that,  in 
short,  my  whole  summers  would  be  smooth  periods  of 
peace  and  goodness.  Now  the  misfortune  is,  I  have  ac 
tually  found  a  great  deal  of  the  comfort  I  expected,  but 
without  any  of  the  concomitant  virtues.  I  am  certainly 
happier  here  than  in  the  agitation  of  the  world,  but  I  do 
not  find  that  I  am  one  bit  better ;  with  full  leisure  to  rec 
tify  my  heart  and  affections,  the  disposition  unluckily  does 
not  come.  I  have  the  mortification  to  find  that  petty  and 
(as  they  are  called)  innocent  employments  can  detain  my 
heart  from  heaven  as  much  as  tumultuous  pleasures.  If 
to  the  pure  all  things  are  pure,  the  reverse  must  be  also 
true,  when  1  can  contrive  to  make  so  harmless  an  employ 
ment  as  the  cultivation  of  flowers  stand  in  the  room  of  a 
vice,  by  the  great  portion  of  time  I  give  up  to  it,  and  by 
the  entire  dominion  it  has  over  my  mind.  You  will  tell 
me  that  if  the  affections  be  estranged  from  their  proper 
object,  it  signifies  not  much  whether  a  bunch  of  roses  or  a 


106  HANNAH      MORE. 

pack  of  cards  affects  it.  I  pass  my  life  in  intending  to  get 
the  better  of  this,  but  life  is  passing  away,  and  the  reform 
never  begins.  It  is  a  very  significant  saying,  though  a 
very  old  one,  of  one  of  the  Puritans,  that  '  hell  is  paved 
with  good  intentions!'  I  sometimes  tremble  to  think 
how  large  a  square  my  procrastination  alone  may  furnish 
to  this  tesselated  pavement." 

"  What  you  are  pleased  to  say,  my  dear  madam,  of 
the  state  of  your  mind,  I  understand  perfectly  well,"  an 
swers  this  good  man,  who  well  understood  the  deceitful- 
ness  of  the  human  heart ;  "  I  praise  God  on  your  behalf, 
and  I  hope  I  shall  earnestly  pray  for  you.  I  have  stood 
upon  that  ground  myself. 

"  We  are  apt  to  wonder  that,  when  what  we  accounted 
hindrances  are  removed,  and  the  things  which  we  con 
ceived  would  be  great  advantages  are  put  within  our 
power,  still  there  is  a  secret  something  in  the  way,  which 
proves  itself  to  be  independent  of  all  external  changes, 
because  it  is  not  affected  by  them.  The  disorder  we  com 
plain  of  is  internal ;  and  in  allusion  to  our  Lord's  words 
upon  another  occasion,  I  may  say,  it  is  not  anything  in 
our  outward  situation  (provided  it  be  not  actually  unlaw 
ful)  that  can  prevent  or  even  retard  our  advances  in  re- 


COWSLIP     G  KEEN.  107 

ligion ;  we  are  defiled  and  impeded  by  that  which  is 
within.  So  far  as  our  hearts  are  right,  all  places  and  cir 
cumstances  which  this  wise  and  good  providence  allots  us 
are  nearly  equal :  their  hindrances  will  prove  helps  ;  losses, 
gains  ;  and  crosses  will  ripen  into  comforts  ;  but  till  we 
are  so  far  apprized  of  the  nature  of  our  disease  as  to  put 
ourselves  into  the  hands  of  the  great  and  only  Physician, 
we  shall  find,  like  the  woman  in  Luke  viii.  43,  that  every 
other  effort  for  relief  will  leave  us  as  it  found  us. 

"  Our  first  thought  when  we  begin  to  be  displeased  with 
ourselves,  and  sensible  that  we  have  been  wrong,  is  to 
attempt  to  reform ;  to  be  sorry  for  what  is  amiss,  and  to 
endeavor  to  amend.  It  seems  reasonable  to  ask,  what 
can  we  do  more?  but  while  we  think  we  can  do  so 
much  as  this,  we  do  not  fully  understand  the  design  of 
the  gospel.  This  gracious  message  from  the  God  who 
knows  our  frame  speaks  home  to  our  case.  It  treats  us 
as  sinners — as  those  who  have  already  broken  the  original 
law  of  our  nature,  in  departing  from  God  our  creator, 
supreme  lawgiver,  and  benefactor,  and  of  having  lived  to 
ourselves  instead  of  devoting  all  our  time,  talents,  and 
influence  to  his  glory.  As  sinners,  the  first  things  we  need 
are  pardon,  reconciliation,  and  a  principle  of  life  and  con 
duct  entirely  new. 


108  HANNAH      MORE. 

"  For  tbese  purposes  we  are  directed  to  Jesus  Christ,  as 
the  wounded  Israelites  were  to  look  at  the  brazen  serpent. 
John  iii.  14,  15.  When  we  understand  what  the  Scrip 
ture  teaches  of  the  person,  love,  and  offices  of  Christ,  the 
necessity  and  final  cause  of  his  humiliation  unto  death, 
and  feel  our  own  need  of  such  a  Saviour,  we  then  know 
him  to  be  the  light,  the  sun  of  the  world  and  of  the  soul ; 
the  source  of  all  spiritual  light,  life,  comfort,  and  influence  ; 
having  access  by  God  to  him,  and  receiving  out  of  his 
fulness  grace  for  grace. 

"  Our  perceptions  of  these  things  are  for  a  time  faint  and 
indistinct,  like  the  peep  of  dawn ;  but  the  dawning  light, 
though  faint,  is  the  sure  harbinger  of  approaching  day. 

"The  beginnings  of  spiritual  life  are  small  in  the  true 
Christian  ;  lie  passes  through  a  succession  of  various  dis 
pensations,  but  he  advances,  though  silently  and  slowly, 
yet  surely,  and  will  stand  forever. 

"  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  chris- 
tian  life  is  a  warfare.  Much  within  us  and  much  without 
us  must  be  resisted.  In  such  a  world  as  this,  and  with 
such  a  nature  as  ours,  there  will  be  a  call  for  habitual 
self-denial.  We  must  learn  to  cease  from  depending 
upon  our  own  supposed  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness,  and 


COWSLIP     GREEN.  100 

from  self-complacency  and  self-seeking,  that  we  may  rely 
upon  Him  whose  wisdom  and  power  are  infinite." 

What  individual,  earnestly  striving  for  a  better  life,  has 
not  sighed  over  the  clogs  and  hindrances  which  beset  his 
path,  and  which  he  fondly  imagines  other  situations  are 
exempt  from ;  were  this  wish  fulfilled,  were  that  place 
attained,  another  goal  reached,  this  obstacle  removed,  then 
how  easy  the  yoke,  how  light  the  burden,  how  smooth 
the  way !  Alas,  no !  no  situation  is  free  from  straits  and 
perplexities,  nowhere  are  we  exempt  from  the  necessity 
of  watchfulness  and  combat.  The  evil  is  within  us.  "  The 
things  that  we  would,  we  do  not,  and  the  things  that  we 
would  not,  those  we  do."  "The  flesh  lusteth  against 
the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh,  and  these  are 
contrary  the  one  to  the  other."  In  this  perpetual  conflict 
how  can  the  victory  be  secured  ?  Only  by  watchfulness 
and  prayer  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

10 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FIRST    FRUITS. 

FROM  the  time  that  Cowslip  Green  became  her  home 
in  1785,  may  be  dated  higher  views  of  duty,  a  more 
confirmed  religious  character  and  a  clearer  comprehension 
of  her  sphere  of  usefulness.  As  the  retreat  was  not 
sought  for  day-dreaming  leisure,  her  time  was  not  whiled 
away  in  literary  effeminacy,  or  her  pen  consecrated  to 
fairy  fancies  or  pleasing  fictions.  Hannah  More  soon 
found  she  had  a  work  to  do  for  the  day  and  generation 
in  which  she  lived,  and  she  wrought  courageously,  pa 
tiently,  and  with  a  full  heart. 

The  first  fruit  of  Cowslip  Green  was  a  small  work, 
entitled,  "  Thoughts  on  the  Importance  of  the  Manners 
of  the  Great  to  General  Society,"  an  introductory  chapter, 
as  it  were,  to  that  elevated  series  of  Christian  teaching, 
which  her  life  and  writings  hereafter  developed. 

It  first  appeared  anonymously,  "  not  so  much  for  the 
fear  of  man,"  she  says,  a  which  worketh  a  snare,  as  because^ 


FIRSTFttUITS.  Ill 

if  anonymous,  it  may  be  ascribed  to  some  better  person, 
and  because  I  fear  I  do  not  live  as  I  write.  I  hope  it 
may  be  useful  to  myself,  at  least  as  I  give  a  sort  of  public 
pledge  of  my  principles,  to  which  I  pray,  I  may  be 
enabled  to  act  up." 

It  was  at  first  attributed  to  Wilberforce,  then  to  the 
Bishop  of  London.  While  the  author  was  yet  unknown, 
the  book  being  canvassed  in  her  presence,  she  was 
abruptly  asked,  if  she  could  conjecture  who  he  could  be. 
"Whoever  the  author  may  be,  I  doubt  not  the  writer 
was  in  earnest,"  replied  Miss  More,  with  the  utmost  self- 
possession.  But  the  authorship  did  not  long  remain  a  secret; 
while  still  in  London,  whither  she  had  gone  to  superin 
tend  its  publication,  she  received  an  anonymous  epigram, 

"Of  sense  and  religion  in  this  little  book, 

All  agree  there's  a  wonderful  store ; 
But  while  round  the  world  for  an  author  they  look, 
I  only  am  wishing  for  Jlfore" 

This  was  her  first  attack  upon  the  unchristian  habits 
and  minor  immoralities  of  the  age  :  her  long  and  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  higher  ranks  of  English  society,  for 
whom  as  the  title  indicates  the  book  was  expressly  written, 
enabled  her  to  write  with  truth  and  directness :  she  knew 


112  HANNAH     MORE. 

whereof  she  spake — "yet  I  have  not  gone  deep,"  she 
says,  "it  is  confined  to  prevailing  practical  evils — should 
this  succeed,  I  hope  by  the  blessing  of  God  to  attack  the 
principle."  Rev.  John  Newton  congratulates  her  upon 
the  performance  and  especially  the  choice  of  a  subject ; 
and  it  is  a  subject  most  admirably  handled.  She  describes, 
with  great  clearness,  the  features  and  influence  of  that 
large  class  of  negative  characters,  abounding  in  every 
community,  which  may  be  called  good  sort  of  people  ; 
people,  who  live  within  the  restraints  of  moral  •  obligation 
and  acknowledge  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  yet 
whose  views  terminate  with  this  world's  good,  who  are 
destitute  of  that  first  essential  principle  of  human  actions, 
which  can  alone  render  them  of  any  value  in  the  sight 
of  God,  faith  in  Christ.  It  is  not  so  much  what  they  do, 
but  what  they  neglect  to  do,  which  constitutes,  at  once, 
the  danger  to  themselves  and  others ;  it  is  the  coming 
short  which  is  so  full  of  peril.  Alas,  how  many  such  are 
there,  all  around,  pleasant  neighbors,  generous  friends, 
worthy  citizens,  whose  prudence,  kindness,  integrity,  hon 
ored  and  respected  by  the  world,  constitute  no  claim  to 
acceptance  before  that  tribunal,  which  searches  the  heart, 
and  has  declared,  "  without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord." 


FIRST     FRUITS.  113 

The  habit  of  employing  hair-dressers  upon  the  Sabbath, 
of  giving  "  card  money"  to  servants,  and  requiring  them 
to  dismiss  a  visitor  with  "  Not  at  home,"  Sunday  Con 
certs  and  Sunday  diversions  were  each  in  turn  commented 
upon  and  condemned  in  a  spirit,  at  once,  so  kind,  so 
candid,  so  decided,  that  the  book  commended  itself  alike  to 
reason  and  consistency,  and  challenged  a  fair  and  impar 
tial  reading  even  from  those  most  unwilling  to  abide  by 
its  decisions. 

On  the  next  meeting  with  her  friend  and  correspondent, 
Horace  Walpole,  he  took  her  to  task  for  having  exhibited 
such  monstrously  severe  doctrines.  "  He  defended,  and 
that  was  the  joke,"  writes  she  to  her  sisters,  "  religion 
against  me,  and  said  he  would  do  so  against  the  whole 
bench  of  bishops — that  the  fourth  commandment  was  the 
most  amiable  and  merciful  law  that  was  ever  promulgated, 
as  it  entirely  considers  the  ease  and  comfort  of  the  hard 
laboring  poor  and  beasts  of  burden  ;  but  that  it  was  never 
intended  for  persons  of  fashion,  who  have  no  occasion  for 
rest  as  they  never  do  anything  on  the  other  days ;  and 
indeed  when  the  law  was  made  there  were  no  people  of 
fashion.  He  really  pretended  to  be  in  earnest,  and  we 
parted  mutually  unconverted;  he  lamenting  I  had  fallen 
into  the  error  of  puritanical  strictness,  and  I  lamenting  he 
10* 


114  II  ANN  A  II      MORE. 

is  a  person  of  fashion,  for  whom  the  ten  commandments 
are  not  made !" 

The  book  made  its  way ;  when  the  second  edition  was 
issued  it  sold  in  little  more  than  a  week  ;  the  third  in 
a  few  hours ;  and  seven  large  editions  disappeared  in  a 
few  months  :  extensively  read  and  circulated,  it  did  not 
fail  to  exercise  a  vast  influence  in  the  circles  for  whom 
it  was  chiefly  intended  ;  its  admonitions  were  heard  and 
heeded ;  several  of  these  customs  fell  into  disrepute,  and  at 
last  were  entirely  abandoned.  For  these  beneficial  changes, 
society  is  indebted  to  Miss  Hannah  More. 

Two' years  afterwards  an  "  Estimate  of  the  Religion  of 
the  Fashionable  World"  appeared,  striking  deep  at  the  false 
principles  which  govern  men  in  their  daily  lives,  and  laying 
bare  the  inconsistencies  and  hollow  professions  of  those  who 
bore  the  Christian  name. 

The  estimate  is  full  of  sound,  clear,  and  dicriminating 
views,  applicable  quite  as  much  to  our  time  as  it  was  to  the 
spirit  and  tendencies  of  seventy  years  ago. 

"  The  present  age,"  she  says,  "  may  justly  be  called  the 
age  of  benevolence.  Liberality  flows  with  a  full  tide 
through  a  thousand  channels.  There  is  scarcely  a  news 
paper  that  does  not  record  some  meeting  of  men  of  for 
tune  for  the  most  salutary  purposes.  The  noble  and  num- 


FIRST     FRUITS.  116 

berless  structures  for  the  relief  of  distress,  which  are  the 
ornament  and  glory  of  our  metropolis,  proclaim  species  of 
munificence  unknown  to  former  ages.  Subscriptions  are 
easily  solicited. 

"Allowing  the  boasted  superiority  of  modern  benev 
olence,  it  might  be  well  to  inquire  whether  the  diffusion  of 
this  branch  of  chanty,  though  the  most  lovely  offspring  of 
religion,  be  yet  any  positive  proof  of  the  prevalence  of  re 
ligious  principle  ?  and  whether  it  be  not  the  fashion  rather 
to  consider  benevolence  as  a  substitute  for  Christianity  than 
as  an  evidence  of  it  2" 

Are  not  these  questions  pertinent  also  to  us;  in  our  day? 

"It  seems  to  be  one  of  the  reigning  errors  among  some," 
she  continues,  "  to  reduce  all  religion  into  benevolence,  and 
all  benevolence  into  alms-giving.  The  wide  and  compre 
hensive  idea  of  Christian  charity  is  compressed  into  the 
slender  compass  of  a  little  pecuniary  relief.  This  species 
of  benevolence  is  indeed  a  bright  gem  among  the  orna 
ments  of  a  Christian ;  but  by  no  means  furnishes  all  the 
jewels  of  a  crown,  which  derives  its  lustre  from  the  associ 
ated  radiance  of  every  Christian  grace. 

"  The  mere  casual  benevolence  of  any  man  can  have 
little  claim  to  solid  esteem ;  nor  does  any  charity  deserve 
the  name,  which  does  not  grow  out  of  a  steady  conviction 


116  II  ANN  A  II      MOKE. 

that  it  is  his  bounden  duty ;  which  does  not  spring  from  a 
settled  propensity  to  obey  the  whole  will  of  God  ;  which  is 
not  therefore  made  a  part  of  the  general  plan  of  his  con 
duct  ;  and  which  does  not  lead  him  to  order  the  whole 
scheme  of  his  affairs  with  an  eye  to  it. 

"  He  therefore  who  does  not  habituate  himself  to  certain 
interior  restraints,  who  does  not  live  in  a  regular  course  of 
self-renunciation,  will  not  be  likely  often  to  perform  acts  of 
beneficence,  when  it  becomes  necessary  to  convert  to  such 
purposes  any  of  that  time  or  money  which  appetite,  temp 
tation,  or  vanity  solicit  him  to  divert  to  other  purposes. 

"  And  surely  he  who  seldom  sacrifices  one  darling  indul 
gence,  who  does  not  subtract  one  gratification  from  the  in 
cessant  round  of  his  enjoyments,  when  the  indulgence 
would  obstruct  his  capacity  of  doing  good,  or  when  the 
sacrifice  would  enlarge  his  power,  does  not  deserve  the 
name  of  benevolent.  And  for  such  an  unequivocal  criterion 
of  charity,  to  whom  are  we  to  look,  but  to  the  conscientious 
Christian  ?  No  other  spirit  but  that  by  which  he  is  gov 
erned,  can  subdue  self-love  ;  and  where  self-love  is  the  pre- 

• 

dominant  passion,  benevolence  can  have  but  a  feeble,  or  an 
accidental  dominion. 

"  Now  if  we  look  around,  and  remark  the  excesses  of 
luxury,  the  costly  diversions,  and  the  intemperate  dissipa- 

l 


FIRST     FRUITS.  117 

tion  in  which  numbers  of  professing  Christians  indulge 
themselves,  can  any  stretch  of  candor,  can  even  that  ten 
der  sentiment  by  which  we  are  enjoined  '  to  hope'  and  to 
'  believe  all  things,'  enable  us  to  hope  and  believe  that 
such  are  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  Christian  benevolence, 
merely  because  we  see  them  perform  some  casual  acts  of 
charity,  which  the  spirit  of  the  world  can  contrive  to  make 
extremely  compatible  with  a  voluptuous  life  ;  and  the  cost 
of  which,  after  all,  bears  but  little  proportion  to  that  of 
any  one  vice,  or  even  vanity  !' " 

The  length  of  the  extract  will  be  pardoned  on  account 
of  its  excellence  and  appropriateness  to  our  own  time. 
The  whole  treatise  is  worthy  of  a  thorough  reading,  re 
plete  as  it  is  with  sound  sense  and  healthy  piety,  although 
there  are  allusions  here  and  there,  better  befitting  an  Eng 
lish  audience  than  our  own.  The  Bishop  of  London  de 
clared  there  were  few  persons  in  Great  Britain  who  could 
write  such  a  book,  conveying  so  much  sound,  evangelical 
morality,  and  so  much  genuine  Christianity,  in  such  neat 
and  elegant  language,  and  predicted  that  the  book  would 
find  its  way  into  every  fine  lady's  library,  and  if  it  did 
not  into  her  heart  and  manners,  the  fault  would  be  her  own. 

A  letter  from  Mrs.  Chapone  thus  expresses  her  com 
mendation  : — 


118  HANNAH      MORE. 

"  The  same  good  gentleman,  my  dear  Madam,  who  some 
time  ago  gave  his  excellent  thoughts  to  '  the  Great,'  has 
again  made  a  powerful  effort  for  their  reformation,  which 
they  receive  with  as  much  avidity  as  if  they  meant  to  be 
amended  by  it :  indeed  he  has  wisely  recommended 
it  to  their  taste  by  every  charm  and  ornament  of 
eloquence. 

"  He  has  been  so  obliging  as  to  send  me  a  copy  of  his 
admirable  book,  and  as  I  do  not  know  his  name  and  ad 
dress,  I  take  the  liberty  of  applying  to  you  (who  are,  I  be 
lieve,  pretty  well  acquainted  with  him,  though  probably 
not  aware  of  half  his  merits),  to  beg  you  will  convey  to 
him  my  grateful  acknowledgments  for  his  favor,  and  as 
sure  him  that  he  continually  rises  in  my  esteem,  by  the 
faithful  zeal  with  which  he  lays  out  the  talents  intrusted  to 
him  at  the  highest  interest ;  and  I  will  venture  to  confess 
(gentleman  though  he  be),  that  I  sincerely  love  and  honor 
him,  and  wish  the  most  perfect  success  to  all  his  laud.'tble 
undertakings. 

"  We  long  for  you  in  town,  my  dear  Miss  More  ;  hasten 
and  enjoy  the  applause  your  lay  friend  has  gained,  and  to 
which  his  own  heart  must  bear  testimony." 

Two  choice  spirits  had  been  added  to  her  list  of  friends, 
Rev.  John  Newton  and  William  Wilberforce,  both  of 


FIRST     FRUITS.  119 


whom  quickened  her  energies  for  the  new  and  honorable 
career  which  opened  before  her. 

Of  Wilberforce  and  the  great  subject  that  first  linked 
them  together,  she  thus  writes  to  Mrs.  Carter : — 

"  This  most  important  cause,  the  project  to  abolish  the 
slave-trade  in  Africa,  has  very  much  occupied  my  thoughts 
this  summer ;  the  young  gentleman,  Mr.  Wilberforce,  who 
has  embarked  in  it  with  the  zeal  of  an  apostle,  has  been 
much  with  me,  and  engaged  all  my  little  interest,  and  all 
my  affections  in  it.  It  is  to  be  brought  before  Parliament 
in  the  spring.  Above  one  hundred  members  have  prom 
ised  their  votes.  My  dear  friend,  be  sure  to  canvass  every 
body  who  has  a  heart.  It  is  a  subject  too  ample  for  a 
letter,  and  I  shall  have  a  great  deal  to  say  to  you  on  it 
when  we  meet.  To  my  feelings  it  is  the  most  interesting- 
subject  which  was  ever  discussed  in  the  annals  of  hu 
manity." 

Similarity  of  pursuits  and  sentiments  soon  drew  the  two 
together,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  an  intimacy,  whoso 
delightful  and  improving  interchanges  proved  not  only  a 
source  of  strength  and  comfort  to  themselves,  but  a  foun 
tain  of  blessings  to  others. 

At  twenty-six  Wilberforce  was  a  member  of  Parliament, 
master  of  an  ample  fortune,  surrounded  by  friends  and  flat- 


120  HANNAH      MORE. 

terers,  treading  a  path  thickly  strown  with  temptations, 
pleasures,  vices,  all  tending  to  corrupt  the  morals,  and 
mislead  the  judgment.  On  a  continental  tour  to  recruit 
during  a  recess  of  Parliament  in  company  with  a  friend, 
a  little  book  became  also  the  companion  of  their  journey ; 
a  little  book  which  asked  no  favors,  uttered  no  flatteries, 
and  could  expect  little  countenance  from  one  like  Wilber- 
force.  "It  is  one  of  the  best  little  books  ever  written 
though,"  spake  his  friend,  who  revered  its  bravery  and 
truth,  though  he  had  no  mind  to  obey  its  dictates.  Wil- 
berforce  unwittingly  said,  "  Let  us  read  it  then  ;"  and  so 
the  two  journeyed  and  read.  "  I  will  search  the  Scrip 
tures  and  see  if  these  things  are  so,"  resolved  Wilberforce, 
as  he  read  and  was  astonished.  The  book  was  Doddridge's 
Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion,  whose  appeals  and  per 
suasions,  whose  rebukes  and  denunciations,  the  young  man 
found  were  recorded  and  reiterated  on  every  page  of  the 
Bible.  Wilberforce  saw  his  danger,  and  fled  for  refuge  to 
the  cross  of  Christ. 

Immediately  on  his  return  to  England,  he  sought  the 
spiritual  guidance  of  John  Newton.  Wilberforce  soon  ap 
peared  a  changed  man,  a  living  epistle  of  the  grace  of 
God,  known  and  read  of  all  men.  In  his  consecration  to 
the  service  of  his  Divine  Master,  there  was  no  reserve  or 


FIRST     FRUITS.  121 

compromise :  he  gave  up  himself  and  his  all :  "  Hence 
forth  let  me  do  with  my  might  while  the  day  lasts,"  was 
the  sleepless  endeavor  of  his  life. 

A  society  for  the  reformation  of  public  morals  was  soon 
on  foot  through  his  instrumentality,  which  helped  greatly 
to  check  the  spread  of  blasphemous  and  indecent  publica 
tions,  and  was  the  source  whence  sprang  many  kindred 
schemes  for  the  public  good. 

But  the  abolition  of  the  Slave-trade  was  the  great  work 
which  must  immortalize  Wilberforce,  and  at  twenty-eight, 
1787,  he  began  to  devote  himself  to  its  interests.  While 
making  a  short  sojourn  at  Bath,  for  the  benefit  of  its 
waters  during  the  autumn  of  this  year,  he  records  of 
himself,  "  I  believe  one  cause  of  my  having  fallen  so  short 
is  my  having  aimed  no  higher.  Remember,  thy  situation 
abounding  in  comforts  requires  thee  to  be  peculiarly  on 
thy  guard,  lest  when  thou  hast  eaten  and  art  full,  thou 
forgettest  God" — yet  Miss  More  who  passed  much  time  in 
his  society  at  this  time  declares,  "  This  young  gentleman's 
character  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  I  ever  knew  for 
talents,  virtue,  and  piety.  It  is  difficult  not  to  grow  wiser 
and  better  every  time  one  converses  with  him." 

The  enormities  of  the  Slave  Traffic  had  for  a  long  time 
attracted  the  attention  of  thoughtful  and  feeling  minds 


122  HANNAH     MORE. 

both  in  England  and  America.  Seven  years  before,  Mr. 
Burke  had  almost  determined  to  bring  the  subject  before 
the  English  Parliament,  having  sketched  a  bill  to  provide 
for  the  immediate  amelioration  of  its  severities  and  its 
ultimate  extinction ; — the  plan  however  he  abandoned, 
from  a  conviction  that  it  would  prove  an  unpopular  and 
ruinous  measure  for  his  party. 

Meanwhile  facts  were  collected  and  arguments  adduced 
to  arouse  and  inform  the  public  mind ;  in  May  1787, 
several  gentlemen  met  together  in  London  and  formed 
themselves  into  a  committee  to  collect  information  and 
raise  funds  for  promoting  the  abolition  of  the  trade ;  over 
this  body,  Granville  Sharpe  presided,  while  Clarkson,  as 
their  agent,  was  in  the  field  with  all  his  quenchless  ardor, 
bringing  out  from  their  dark  dens,  facts  and  truths,  re 
specting  the  traffic,  which  curdled  the  blood  and  almost 
awakened  the  distrust  of  every  English  reader,  yet  it  had 
struck  its  roots  into  the  commercial  interests  of  the  country, 
and  hundreds  were  ready  to  defend  it. 

And  now  the  subject  must  be  laid  before  Parliament — 
where  is  the  man  of  moral  mettle,  to  undertake  it  ?  No 
man  of  party  connection  or  political  ambition  dared  en 
gage  in 'a  work  of  such  doubtful  and  dangerous  issues. 
It  must  be  undertaken  at  his  own  peril,  depending  alone 


FIRST     FRUITS.  123 

on  the  righteousness  of  his  cause,  for  commercial  power 
and  self-interest,  wealth  and  long  usage  were  all  against  it 
A  man  must  do  it  from  God's  imposition  and  for  humani 
ty's  sake.  Wilberforce  was  the  man.  How  bravely  he 
battled,  and  how  glorious  the  issue,  the  world  knows  well. 

Among  the  publications  of  the  day  to  arouse  and  enlist 
the  public  sympathies,  "  The  Slave  Trade,"  a  little  poem, 
issued  from  the  pen  of  Hannah  More. 

The  muse  in  impassioned  strains  thus  exclaims  :— 

"  What  wrongs,  what  injuries  does  Oppression  plead, 
To  smooth  the  crime  and  sanctify  the  deed  ? 
What  strange  offence,  what  aggravated  sin  ? 
They  stand  convicted — of  a  darker  skin ! 
Barbarians,  hold !  the  opprobrious  commerce  spare, 
Respect  His  sacred  image  which  they  bear. 
Though  dark  and  savage,  ignorant  and  blind, 
They  claim  the  common  privilege  of  kind ; 
Let  malice  strip  them  of  each  other  plea, 
They  still  are  men,  and  men  should  still  be  free. 
Insulted  Reason  loathes  th'  inverted  trade — 
Loathes,  as  she  views  the  human  purchase  made; 
The  outraged  goddess,  with  abhorrent  eyes, 
Sees  man  the  traffic,  souls  the  merchandise  1" 


CHAPTER    IX. 


nninttg  ije  tym 

ON  New  Year's  day  of  1789,  Miss  More  is  dining  at 
Berkley  -square,  Mrs.  Montagu  having  assembled  around 
her  a  few  of  the  Bleus,  among  whom  we  recognize  the 
familiar  face  of  Mrs.  Boscawen. 

Mrs.  Vesey,  who  made  one  of  this  brilliant  circle  on 
Hannah's  first  introduction  to  London,  was  now  in  that 
state  of  suffering,  which  left  one  nothing  to  hope  —  her 
mind  was  gone. 

"  Ah,"  sighed  Miss  More,  on  visiting  her,  "  it  is  melan 
choly  to  look  at  this  house  where  I  have  seen  so  many 
agreeable  people,  and  heard  so  much  pleasant  conversation, 
and  made  so  many  friendships,  and  think  that  its  mistress 
is  bereft  of  her  faculties.  What  a  call  for  serious  reflec 
tion  !  I  want  to  get  my  heart  more  affected  with  feeling 
for  the  sorrows  of  others,  and  with  gratitude  for  my  own 
mercies." 

She  soon  after  went  down  to  Hampton,  where  she  had 


LABORS     AMONG     THE     POOR.  125 

as  yet  endeavored  to  pass  a  few  weeks,  each  year,  to  cheer 
the  widowed  heart  of  Mrs.  Garrick.  The  exciting  topic  of 
the  spring  was  the  slave  question,  which  was  about  to  be 
laid  before  Parliament.  Wilberforce  went  down  to  Teston, 
at  Sir  Charles  Middleton's  country  seat,  to  consult  his 
advisers  and  marshal  his  forces  for  the  approaching  debate. 
"  He  with  the  whole  junto  of  abolitionists  are  slaving  it  till 
two  o'clock  every  morning,"  declares  Mrs.  Bouverie.  "  I 
hope  Teston  will  be  the  Runnymede  of  the  negroes," 
ejaculates  Miss  More,  "and  the  great  charter  of  African 
liberty  will  be  completed — the  fate  of  Africa  now  trembles 
in  the  balance." 

On  the  12th  of  May,  in  a  speech  of  three  hours  of 
surpassing  eloquence,  Wilberforce  opened  the  debate  iii 
the  House  of  Commons,  denouncing  the  slave-trade  as  a 
national  iniquity  and  tracing  with  masterly  power  its  de 
structive  effects  upon  Africa,  upon  its  victims  and  upon  the 
colonies  ;  viewed  from  his  own  stand  point,  not  political 
advancement  or  party  tactics,  but  from  the  elevated  height 
of  a  common  humanity  and  Christian  civilization,  he  beheld 
its  horrors  and  injustice  in  all  their  length  and  breadth  and 
depth,  and  his  own  soul  glowed  with  the  magnitude  of  the 
subject.  Pitt,  Burke,  and  Fox,  gave  him  a  strong  and 
eloquent  support,  each  unanimously  declaring  that  the 
11* 


126  HANNAH      MOKE. 

slave-trade  was  the  disgrace  and  opprobrium  of  the  coun 
try,  and  that  nothing  but  its  entire  abolition  could  satisfy 
the  demands  of  justice  and  the  appeals  of  humanity.  It 
was  deemed  a  glorious  night  for  England.  Principles 
familiar  to  us  as  household  words  were  then  broached  as 
dangerous  and  startling  innovations,  and  were  met  by  u 
powerful  opposition  from  the  callous,  the  timid,  and  the 
self-interested. 

Miss  More  soon  left  these  exciting  scenes  for  a  June 
flitting  at  Rosed  ale,  Mrs.  Bosca  wen's  new  villa  at  Rich 
mond,  "  And  I  am  sitting,"  she  closes  a  letter  to  Martha, 
"  on  the  very  seat  where  Thomson  wrote  his  Seasons." 
The  abode  of  the  poet  was  a  simple  cottage  in  Kevv-foot 
Lane  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames.  It  was  purchased  at 
his  death  by  George  Ross,  Esq.,  who  enlarged  and  beauti 
fied  it,  reverently  preserving  whatever  he  consistently  could 
of  the  old  domain.  At  his  death,  the  property  fell  to 
Mrs.  Boscawen.  There  was  the  Bard's  favorite  seat  in 
the  alcove  under  the  old  elm-tree,  and  there  a  little  walnut 
table,  where  Thomson  sang  the  seasons  and  their  change : 
and  may  we  not  suppose  that  fancy  lent  enchantment  to 
the  scene,  as  the  friends  lingered  in  the  alcove,  heard  the 
warblings  of  the  thrush,  and  gazed  upon  the  summer  beau 
ties  of  the  landscape,  which  inspired  the  heart  of  the  poet  ? 


LABORS     AMONG     THE     POOR.  127 

The  remainder  of  the  season  was  diversified  by  a  visit  to 
Sandleford,  whose  Gothic  windows,  Grecian  wit  and  British 
oaks,  could  not  ward  off  five  days  of  unrelenting  head 
ache,  to  which  Miss  More  from  early  life  was  subject; 
then  a  sail  down  the  river  Wye,  in  company  with  her 
pleasant  and  excellent  friends  Mr.  and  Miss  Wilberforce, 
looking  at  abbeys  and  castles,  enjoying  at  once  the  benefits 
of  improving  conversation  and  the  charms  of  most  beauti 
ful  and  interesting  scenery ;  we  find  her  next  at  Stoke, 
dwelling  in  sober  magnificence  with  a  certain  Dowager 
Duchess,  where  a  little  more  discretion  and  a  little  less 
fancy  were  proper  and  decorous,  as  she  tells  us. 

Hannah  and  Martha  are  now  at  Cowslip  Green :  the 
retreat  is  enlivened  by  a  day  from  Mrs.  Montagu,  a  week 
from  Mrs.  Garrick,  both  of  whom  came  to  try  the  benefit 
of  Bath  waters,  and  a  fortnight  from  Mrs.  Kennicott, 
"  who  with  wonderful  readiness  accommodated  herself 
to  the  quiet,  simple  life  of  their  little  cottage;"  then 
came  a  vacation  week  from  the  elder  sisterhood,  and  last, 
though  not  least,  the  Wilberforces  made  a  ramble  to  the 
Green. 

Among  the  interesting  features  of  the  surrounding 
scenery,  rose  the  bold  and  romantic  Cliffs  of  Cheddar, 
forming  a  picturesque  perspective  towards  the  south  ten 


128  HANNAH      MO  H  E. 

miles,  from  Cowslip  Green.  Among  these  clifts  were  scenes 
of  wild  beauty  and  solemn  grandeur,  yawning  caverns, 
damp  hollows  and  bald  peaks,  which  made  them  the 
summer  resort  of  many  a  traveller  in  quest  of  sublime  and 
imposing  scenery. 

The  sisters  begged  Wilberforce  not  to  leave  Wrington 
without  a  visit  to  these  wonders  of  the  region.  Patty  was 
eloquent,  and  urged  the  gratification  which  the  drive  would 
afford  to  a  mind  like  his  :  a  day  was  fixed — then  given 
tip ;  the  Cliffs  were  again  discussed  at  the  breakfast- cable, 
the  next  morning,  until  their  guest  was  prevailed  upon 
to  go. 

On  his  return,  Patty  ran  into  the  parlor,  triumphantly 
inquiring,  "  How  he  liked  the  Clifts  ?" 

"  Very  fine,"  he  replied  ;  "  but  the  poverty  and  distress 
of  the  people  are  dreadful." 

"  This  was  all  that  passed,"  said  Patty,  in  relating  the 
circumstance.  "  Wilberforce  soon  retired  to  his  room,  and 
dismissed  even  his  reader.  I  said  to  Hannah  and  his  sis 
ter  that  I  feared  he  was  not  well.  The  cold  chicken  and 
wine  put  into  the  carriage  for  his  dinner,  was  returned  un 
touched.  Mr.  Wilberforce  appeared  at  supper,  seemingly 
refreshed  with  a  higher  feast  than  we  had  sent  with  him. 
The  servant,  at  his  desire,  was  dismissed,  when  immediately 


LABORS     AMONG     THE     POOR.  129 

he  began :  '  Miss  Hannah  More,  something  must  be  done 
for  Cheddar.' 

"  He  then  gave  us  a  particular  account  of  his  day,  of  the 
inquiries  he  had  made  respecting  the  poor :  there  was  no 
resident  minister,  no  manufactory,  nor  did  there  appear 
any  dawn  of  comfort,  either  temporal  or  spiritual.  The 
possibility  and  method  of  assisting  them  was  discussed  till 
a  late  hour :  it  was  then  decided  in  a  few  words,  by  Mr. 
"Wilber force's  exclaiming,  '  If  you  will  be  at  the  trouble,  I 
will  be  at  the  expense.' 

"  Something  commonly  called  an  impulse,  crossed  my 
heart,  that  told  me  it  was  God's  work,  and  it  would  do  : 
and  though  I  never  have,  and  probably  never  shall  recover 
the  same  emotion,  yet  it  is  my  business  to  water  it  with 
watchfulness. 

"  Mr.  Wilberforce  and  his  sister  left  us  in  a  day  or  two. 
We  turned  many  schemes  in  our  head  every  possible  way ; 
at  length  those  measures  were  adopted,  which  led  to  the 
formation  of  the  different  schools." 

The  Cliffs  of  Cheddar,  at  this  time,  were  inhabited  by  a 
squalid,  ignorant,  half-savage  people,  dwelling  in  the  caves 
and  fissures  of  the  rocks,  and  earning  a  miserable  subsist 
ence  by  selling  roots,  stalactites,  and  other  mineral  pro 
ductions  of  the  place,  to  travellers  who  came  hither, 


130  HANNAH      MORE. 

and  recounting  also   the  legends  with  which   the   region 
abounds. 

The  hearts  of  the  sisters,  we  may  suppose,  had  already 
yearned  over  the  destitution  and  wretchedness  of  this  for 
lorn  race,  thus  hanging  as  it  were  on  the  skirts  of  civiliza 
tion  :  for  they  readily  and  joyfully  responded  to  the  call. 
Home  missionary  work  of  this  kind  was  then  comparatively 
new ;  though  Robert  Raikes  had  begun  to  bless  Gloucester 
with  the  Sunday-school,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou 
sand  children  were  already  enjoying  its  privileges,  yet  the 
inestimable  benefits  of  the  institution  were  not  yet  widely 
extended  or  fully  realized ;  old  Brentford  also  was  reaping 
a  harvest  of  good  from  the  warm-hearted  efforts  of  good 
Mrs.  Trimmer,  who  had  established,  and  was  superintend 
ing  a  system  of  moral  instruction,  whereby  large  numbers 
of  poor  children  had  been  reclaimed  from  idleness  and  vice. 
These  efforts  had  received  Hannah  More's  cordial  sym 
pathy  and  warm  approval :  a  similar  field  was  now  spread 
out  before  her ;  a  sphere  of  active  usefulness,  unlike  any 
which  she  had  hitherto  occupied,  invited  her  attention,  and 
appealed  to  her  Christian  love.  She  resolved  upon  imme 
diate  action.  Accompanied  by  Patty,  she  is  soon  explor 
ing  the  region,  a  graphic  account  of  which  she  gives  in  a 


SUNDAY     SCHOOLS.  131 

letter  to  Wilberforce,  while  still  on  the  tour,  dated  from 
George  Hotel,  Cheddar. 

"  Though  this  is  but  a  romantic  place,  as  my  friend 
Matthew  well  observed,  yet  you  would  laugh  to  see  the 
bustle  I  am  in.  I  was  told  that  we  should  meet  with 
great  opposition  if  I  did  not  try  to  propitiate  the  chief 
despot  of  the  village,  who  is  very  rich  and  very  brutal :  so 
I  ventured  into  the  den  of  this  monster,  in  a  country  as 
savage  as  himself,  near  Bridgewater.  lie  begged  that  I 
would  not  think  of  bringing  any  religion  into  the  country : 
it  was  the  worst  thing  in  the  world  for  the  poor,  it  made 
them- lazy  and  useless.  In  vain  I  represented  to  him,  that 
they  would  be  more  industrious  as  they  were  better  prin 
cipled  ;  and  that,  for  my  own  part,  I  had  no  selfish  views 
in  what  I  was  doing.  He  gave  me  to  understand  that  he 
knew  the  world  too  well  to  believe  either  the  one  or  the 
other.  Somewhat  dismayed  to  find  that  my  success  bore 
no  proportion  to  my  submissions,  I  was  almost  discouraged 
from  more  visits  ;  but  I  found  that  friends  must  be  secured 
at  all  events ;  for  if  these  rich  savages  set  their  faces 
against  us,  and  influenced  the  poor  people,  I  saw  that 
nothing  but  hostilities  would  ensue  ;  so  I  made  eleven 
more  of  these  agreeable  visits ;  and,  as  I  improved  in  the 
art  of  canvassing,  had  better  success.  Miss  Wilberforce 


182  HANNAH     MORE. 

would  have  been  shocked,  had  she  seen  the  petty  tyrants 
whose  insolence  I  stroked  and  tamed,  the  ugly  children  I 
praised,  the  pointers  and  spaniels  I  caressed,  the  cider  I 
commended,  and  the  wine  I  swallowed.  After  these  irre 
sistible  flatteries,  I  inquired  of  each  if  he  could  recommend 
me  to  a  house  ;  and  said  that  I  had  a  little  plan  which  I 
hoped  would  secure  their  orchards  from  being  robbed, 
their  rabbits  from  being  shot,  their  game  from  being 
stolen,  and  which  might  lower  the  poor-rates.  If  effect  be 
the  best  proof  of  eloquence,  then  mine  was  a  good  speech, 
for  I  gained,  at  length,  the  hearty  concurrence  of  the  whole 
people,  and  their  promise  to  discourage  and  favor  the  poor 
in  proportion  as  they  were  attentive  or  negligent  in  send 
ing  their  children.  Patty,  who  is  with  me,  says  she  has 
good  hopes  that  the  hearts  of  some  of  these  rich  poor 
wretches  may  be  touched  :  they  are  as  ignorant  as  the 
beasts  that  perish,  intoxicated  every  day  before  dinner,  and 
plunged  into  such  vices  as  make  me  begin  to  think  London 
a  virtuous  place.  By  their  assistance  I  procured  im 
mediately  a  good  house,  which,  when  a  partition  is 
taken  down,  and  a  window  added,  will  receive  a  great 
number  of  children.  The  house  and  an  excellent  garden 
of  almost  an  acre  of  ground,  I  have  taken  at  once  for  six 
guineas  and  a  half  a  year.  I  have  ventured  to  take  it  for 


SUNDAY     SCHOOLS.  133 

seven  years — there  is  courage  for  you  !  It  is  to  be  put  in 
order  immediately,  '  for  the  night  cometh ;'  and  it  is  a 
comfort  to  think  that  though  I  may  be  in  dust  and  ashes 
in  a  few  weeks,  yet  by  that  time  this  business  will  be  in 
actual  motion.  I  have  written  to  different  manufacturing 
towns  for  a  mistress,  but  can  get  nothing  hitherto.  As  to 
the  mistress  for  the  Sunday-school  and  the  religious  part,  I 
have  employed  Mrs.  Esterbrook,  of  whose  judgment  I 

have  a  good  opinion.  I  hope  Miss  W will  not  be 

frightened, — but  I  am  afraid  she  must  be  called  a 
Methodist. 

"I  asked  the  farmers  if  they  had  no  resident  curate? 
They  told  me  they  had  a  right  to  insist  on  one ;  which  right 
they  confessed,  they  had  never  ventured  to  exercise,  for 
fear  their  tithes  would  bo  raised.  I  blushed  for  my 
species.  The  glebe-house  is  good  for  my  purposes.  The 
curate  lives  at  Wells,  twelve  miles  distant.  They  have 
only  service  once  a  week,  and  there  is  scarcely  an  instance 
of  a  poor  person  being  visited  or  prayed  with." 

In  spite  of  Miss  Hannah's  repeated  headaches,  and  Miss 
Patty's  ill-health,  so  promptly  and  energetically  did  they 
pursue  their  labors,  that  the  1st  of  October  witnessed  the 
opening  of  the  school  in  Cheddar,  by  Miss  Hannah  in 
person.  The  principal  people  from  the  parishes  far  and 
12 


134  HANNAH     MORE. 

near,  came  to  witness  the  operation  of  a  scheme,  as  it  was 
regarded,  to  reform  Botany  Bay. 

"  It  was  an  affecting*  sight,"  says  she.  "  Several  of  the 
grown-up  youth  had  been  tried  at  the  late  assizes, — three 
were  the  children  of  a  person  lately  condemned  to  be 
hanged ;  many  thieves,  all  ignorant,  profane  and  vicious, 
beyond  belief.  Of  this  banditti  we  have  enlisted  one 
hundred  and  seventy  ;  and  when  the  clergyman,  a  hard 
man,  who  is  also  the  magistrate,  saw  these  creatures  kneel 
ing  around  us,  whom  he  had  seen  but  to  commit  or  to 
punish  in  some  way,  he  burst  into  tears.  I  can  do  them 
but  little  good,  I  fear,  but  the  grace  of  God  can. 

"  Have  you  never  felt  your  mind,"  she  asks  Wilberforce, 
"  now  and  then  raised  and  touched  by  some  very  trifling 
circumstance  ?  So  I  felt  on  Sunday.  Some  musical  gen 
tleman,  drawn  from  a  distance  by  curiosity  (just  as  I  was 
coming  out  of  church  with  my  ragged  regiment,  much  de 
pressed  to  think  how  little  good  I  could  do  them),  quite 
unexpectedly  struck  up  that  beautiful  and  animated  an 
them,  '  In  as  much  as  you  do  it  to  one  of  the  least  of  these, 
you  have  done  it  unto  me.'  " 

To  the  Sunday-school  was  soon  added  a  school  during 
the  week,  where  sewing,  knitting,  and  spinning  were  taught 
to  the  girls.  A  faithful  and  excellent  woman  was  engaged 


SUNDAY     SCHOOLS.  135 

as  mistress  of  this  school,  who,  with  her  daughter,  entered 
so  completely  into  Miss  More's  plans,  that  medicine,  cloth 
ing,  and  small  sums  of  money  were,  from  time  to  time, 
placed  at  her  disposal,  to  distribute  among  the  sick  and 
needy,  to  whom  she  ever  proved  a  friend  and  com 
forter. 

Two  years  after  Miss  More's  first  visit  to  Cheddar,  she  re 
ceived  a  zealous  ally  in  the  Rev.  Thomas  Drewitt,  who  be 
came  a  resident  curate  among  this  people,  strengthening 
her  hands,  and  encouraging  her  heart  by  all  the  means  in 
his  power. 

Great  as  was  the  work  for  Cheddar,  Cheddar  did  not 
bound  their  hopes  or  exhaust  their  energies :  other  fields 
opened  before  them,  and  they  went  boldly  forward  bearing 
the  precious  seed ;  thirteen  parishes  were  found  equally 
destitute  of  the  means  of  social  comforts  or  religious  im- 

O 

provement.  In  Shipham  the  women  knew  nothing  of  in 
dustry  or  frugality,  the  young  men  spent  the  Sabbath  in 
sporting  and  hunting,  and  the  children  in  nakedness  and 
vagrancy.  At  Axbridge  the  curate  was  intoxicated  six 
times  in  the  week,  and  very  frequently  was  prevented  from 
preaching  by  two  black  eyes,  honestly  earned  by  fighting  ; 
the  ale-house  was  more  frequented  than  the  church,  the 
laws  of  cards  or  quoits  were  better  understood  than  the  ten 


136  HANNAH      MORE. 

commandments,  while  good  order  and  domestic  peace  were 
things  unheard  of. 

"  The  lower  classes  are  fated  to  be  poor,  ignorant,  and 
wicked,"  said  the  petty  landholders ;  "  and  wise  as  you  are, 
you  cannot  alter  what  is  decreed."  "  Besides,"  added  an 
other,  "  I  like  the  parish  very  well  as  it  is, — if  the  young- 
men  come  and  gamble  before  my  house  Sunday  afternoon, 
I  have  only  to  go  out  and  curse  and  swear  at  them,  and 
they  will  march  off, — what  can  one  desire  more  ?" 

Happily  for  the  parishes,  there  were  those  who  did  de 
sire  more — happily  there  were  eyes  that  wept,  and  hearts 
that  felt,  and  lips  that  prayed,  for  the  sorrows  and  woes  of 
the  poor :  there  were  time,  and  talent,  and  money  that  had 
been  consecrated  to  the  Lord's  service,  and  they  were  to  be 
employed  among  his  poor :  before  the  year  closed  schools 
were  established  in  nine  different  parishes, — and  five  hun 
dred  scholars  were  enjoying  the  benefits  of  Sabbath- 
school  instruction. 

From  Bath,  Wilberforce  wrote  to  Miss  More  : — "  I  have 
more  money  than  time,  and  if  you  or  your  sister  will  con 
descend  to  be  my  almoner,  you  will  enable  me  to  employ 
some  of  the  superfluity  it  has  pleased  God  to  give  me,  to 
some  good  purpose.  Sure  am  I,  that  they  who  subscribe 
attention  and  industry  furnish  articles  of  more  sterling 


SUNDAY     SCHOOLS.  13 

and  intrinsic  value.  Besides,  I  have  a  rich  banker  in  Lon 
don,  Mr.  Henry  Thornton,  whom  I  cannot  oblige  so  much 
as  by  drawing  on  him  for  purposes  like  these.  I  shall  take 
the  liberty  of  enclosing  a  draft  for  £40  ;  but  this  is  only 
for  a  beginning." 

"  I  joyfully  accept  your  office  of  almoner,"  responds  Han 
nah,  thankful  to  scatter  around  the  "  gleanings  of  the  horn 
of  plenty,"  "on  condition  that  you  will  find  fault  with,  and 
direct  me  with  as  little  scruple  as  I  shall  have  in  disposing 
of  your  money.  Patty  is  very  proud  at  being  admitted 
into  the  confederacy,  and  at  being  appointed  superintendent 
of  Cheddar ;  a  title,  however,  she  will  only  hold  by  delega 
tion  in  my  too  long  absence,  for  I  like  my  dignity  too  well 
to  allow  her  to  be  more  than  vice-queen. 

"  What  comfort  I  feel,  in  looking  round  on  these  starv 
ing  and  half-naked  multitudes,  to  think  that  by  your  liber 
ality  many  of  them  may  be  fed  and  clothed  :  and  oh,  it' 
but  one  soul  is  rescued  from  eternal  misery,  how  may  we 
rejoice  over  it  in  another  state,  where  perhaps  it  may  not 
be  one  of  our  smallest  felicities  that  our  friendship  was 
turned  to  some  useful  account  in  advancing  the  good  of 
others,  and,  as  I  humbly  presume  to  hope,  in  improving 
ourselves  for  that  life  which  shall  have  no  end. 

"  Mr.  Henry  Thornton,  I  think,  belongs  to  the  Society 
12* 


138  HANNAH      M  ORE. 

of  Sunday-schools  in  London,  for  assisting  necessitous  vil 
lages  with  books,  &c.  There  cannot  be  a  fairer  claim  on 

O  ' 

them  than  the  present.  If  you  and  he  approve  it,  perhaps 
we  may  apply  for  a  quantity  of  New  Testaments,  prayer- 
books,  and  little  Sunday-school  books,  with  a  few  Bibles. 
The  sooner  we  get  them  the  better  ;  otherwise,  you  or  he 
will  be  so  good  as  to  order  a  supply  from  the  Society  for 
promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  to  which  I  do  not  belong, 
or  I  would  send  for  them.  They  may  be  directed  to  Park- 
street." 

To  Mrs.  Carter  she  writes,  "  It  is  grievous  to  reflect,  that 
while  we  are  sending  missionaries  to  India,  our  villages  are 
in  pagan  darkness,  and  upon  many  of  them  scarcely  a  ray 
of  Christianity  has  shone.  I  speak  from  the  most  minute 
and  diligent  examination.  I  have  been  constantly  occu 
pied  for  a  long  time,  in  trying  what  my  poor  abilities  and 
my  small  influence  over  others,  richer  and  better,  can  bring- 
about.  In  one  particular  spot,  for  instance,  there  are  six 
large  parishes,  without  so  much  as  a  resident  curate. 
Through  the  kind  assistance  of  a  friend  or  two,  I  am  en 
deavoring  to  fix  schools  and  other  little  institutions  in  the 
most  destitute  of  these  places,  and,  as  they  are  from  six  to 
ten  miles  distant,  you  will  judge  that  it  employs  a  good 
deal  of  my  time.  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  tell  you,  that 


SUNDAY     SCHOOLS.  139 

Cheddar,  our  first  establishment,  goes  on  prosperously. 
We  have  a  great  many  children  in  that  parish  only,  and 
by  the  ability  and  piety  of  our  teachers,  their  improve 
ment  surpasses  my  warmest  hopes.  I  make  no  apology  to 
you,  my  dear  friend,  for  the  freedom  of  these  details. 
Alas !  there  are  so  few  to  whom  one  can  speak  or  write 
upon  such  subjects. 

"  Poor  Patty  is  a  great  sufferer.  Our  friend,  Mrs. 
Garrick,  who  is  still  at  Bristol  Wells,  has  been  to  see  us 
several  times  :  she  does  not  think  herself  quite  recovered. 
To  those  who  have  enjoyed  during  a  lifetime  perfect 
health,  illness  is  particularly  alarming.  Let  you  and  me, 
my  dear  friend,  number  our  infirm  health,  among  the  mer 
ciful  providences  which  have  been  dispensed  to  us.  How 
much  more  do  we  enjoy  our  intervals  of  ease  than  those 
who  know  no  pains,  and  I  hope  we  may  be  able  to  turn 
the  pain  itself  to  a  good  account.  'All  things  work  to 
gether  for  good  to  them  that  love  God.' 

"  I  wish  you  could  see  rny  roses.  I  have  a  double  end 
in  such  a  wish,  for  then  I  should  see  you.  I  am  truly  and 
faithfully,  my  dearest  Mrs.  Carter,  yours." 

At  this  time  the  elder  sisters  retired  from  their  school, 
after  a  professional  experience  of  nearly  thirty  years,  highly 
creditable  to  themselves,  and  amply  rewarded  by  an  ex- 


140  HANNAH      MORE. 

tensive  patronage,  which  enabled  them  to  build  a  fine 
house  in  Bath,  and  spend  their  later  years  in  the  enjoy 
ment  of  every  comfort  which  earth  can  give,  besides  that 
unspeakable  peace  which  heaven  bestows  upon  its  heirs. 

Henceforth  the  sisters  had  two  homes,  sometimes  at 
Cowslip  Green,  sometimes  at  Bath  ;  and  the  fraternal  tie 
was  strengthened  and  hallowed  by  the  hearty  co-operation 
of  each  other  in  holy  purposes  and  useful  plans. 

The  Mendip  schools  were  dear  to  the  sisterhood :  each 
bore  her  share  in  their  labors,  fatigues,  anxieties,  and  con 
flicts,  sustaining  and  encouraging  their  sister  Hannah,  in 
the  conspicuous  and  important  part  which  her  talents  and 
energy  required  her  to  bear.  How  delightful  this  circle, 
undivided  by  the  change  of  years,  and  unbroken  by  death, 
mingling  together  their  fortunes  and  affections  in  the  same 
great  pursuits,  and  around  the  same  home-hearths. 

In  the  establishment  of  their  schools,  the  difficulties  to 
be  overcome  needed  all  the  resolution  and  judgment  of 
minds  like  theirs.  Though  the  field  of  effort  was  in  a  land 
of  Bibles  and  Sabbaths,  yet  a  preparatory  work,  not  wholly 
unlike  that  which  is  necessary  on  heathen  ground,  was 
needed  here, — the  whole  people  whom  they  wished  to 
benefit,  were  to  be  conciliated, — fearing  not  God,  or  regard 
ing  man,  they  neither  desired  nor  cared  for  the  blessings 


SUNDAY     SCHOOLS.  141 

which  Christian  love  would  bestow, — there  were  the  preju 
dices  and  opposition  of  the  small  proprietors,  the  hardness 
and  guilt  of  the  poor,  the  hatred  of  the  ale-houses,  the  in 
difference  of  the  church, — -the  general  ignorance  and  inca 
pability  of  appreciating  the  nature  of  the  good  to  be  con 
ferred  upon  them,  the  difficulty  also  of  obtaining  suitable 
teachers,  prudent,  discreet,  and  pious  ;  add  to  these 
said  Miss  Hannah,  after  the  good  work  was  in  progress, 
"  The  teaching  of  the  teachers,  which  is  not  the  least  part 
of  the  work — having  about  thirty  masters  and  mistresses, 
with  under-teachers,  one  has  continually  to  bear  with  the 
faults,  the  ignorance,  the  prejudices,  humors,  misfortunes, 
and  debts  of  all  these  poor,  well-meaning  people.  I  hope, 
however,  it  teaches  one  forbearance,  and  it  serves  to  put 
me  in  mind  how  much  God  has  to  bear  from  me.  I  now 
and  then  comfort  Patty  in  our  journeys  home  at  night,  by 
saying,  if  we  do  these  people  no  good,  I  hope  we  do  some 
little  good  to  ourselves." 

But  Miss  More  neither  flinched  nor  faltered  in  her  ardu 
ous  service :  she  who  had  not  hesitated  to  speak  plain, 
but  unwelcome  truths  to  the  gay  and  great,  and  reiterate 
the  startling  admonitions  of  the  Bible  in  the  halls  of 
luxurious  ease,  would  shrink  from  no  personal  fatigue 
or  be  disheartened  either  by  opposition  or  indifference. 


142  HANNAH     MORE. 

The  course  of  instruction  pursued  in  her  schools  was 
divided  into  four  classes,  Bible,  Testament,  Psalter,  and  the 
Catechism  and  Alphabet;  the  rules  were  always  read  at 
their  opening  on  Sunday  morning,  followed  by  a  prayer, 
a  hymn,  and  a  part  of  the  34th  Psalm. 

"  For  the  first  year,"  said  Miss  More,  in  speaking  of  the 
mother  and  daughter  whom  she  had  engaged  as  teachers 
for  Cheddar,  and  the  difficulties  presented  at  Cheddar 
were  like  those  of  every  other  place,  where  schools  had 
been  planted,  "  these  excellent  women  had  to  struggle 
with  every  kind  of  opposition,  so  that  they  were  frequently 
tempted  to  give  up  their  laborious  employ.  They  well 
entitled  themselves  to  £30  per  annum  salary  and  some 
little  presents.  They  visited  the  sick,  chiefly  with  a  view 
to  their  spiritual  concerns;  but  we  concealed  the  true 
motive  at  first :  and  in  order  to  procure  them  access  to  the 
homes  and  hearts  of  the  people,  they  were  furnished  not 
only  with  medicine,  but  with  a  little  money,  which  they 
administered  with  great  prudence.  They  soon  gained 
their  confidence,  read  and  prayed  to  them,  and  in  all 
respects  did  what  a  good  clergyman  does  in  other 
parishes. 

"  At  the  end  of  the  year  we  perceived  that  much  ground 
had  been  gained  among  the  poor;  but  the  success  was 


SUNDAY    SCHOOLS.  143 

attended  with  no  small  persecution  from  the  rich,  though 
some  of  them  grew  more  favorable. 

"  I  now  ventured  to  have  a  sermon  read  after  school  on  a 
Sunday  evening,  inviting  a  few  of  the  parents,  and  keeping 
the  grown-up  children ;  the  sermons  were  of  the  most 
awakening  sort,  and  soon  produced  sensible  effects.  It  was 
at  first  thought  a  very  methodistical  measure,  and  we  got  a 
few  broken  windows ;  but  quiet  perseverance,  and  the  great 
prudence  with  which  the  zeal  of  our  good  mistresses  was 
regulated,  carried  us  through.  Many  reprobates  were,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  awakened,  and  many  swearers  and 
Sabbath-breakers  reclaimed.  The  number  both  of  young 
and  old  scholars  increased,  and  the  daily  life  and  conversa 
tion  of  many  seemed  to  keep  pace  with  tluir  religious  pro 
fessions  on  the  Sunday. 

"  We  now  began  to  distribute  Bibles,  prayer-books,  and 
other  good  books,  but  never  at  random,  and  only  to  those 
who  had  given  some  evidence  of  their  loving  and  deserving 
them.  They  are-  always  made  the  reward  of  superior 
learning,  or  some  other  merit,  as  we  can  have  no  other 
proof  that  they  will  be  read.  Those  who  manifest  the 
greatest  diligence,  get  the  books  of  most  importance. 
During  my  absence  in  the  winter,  a  great  many  will  learn 
twenty  or  thirty  chapters,  psalms  and  hymns. 


V' 

Of   THl 

TJNIVERS: 


144  HANNAH      MORE. 

"  Finding  the  wants  and  distresses  of  these  poor  people 
uncommonly  great  (for  their  wages  are  but  one  shilling  per 
day),  and  fearing  to  abuse  the  bounty  of  my  friends  by  too 
indiscriminate  liberality,  it  occurred  to  me  that  I  could 
make  what  I  had  to  bestow  go  much  further,  by  instituting 
clubs  or  societies  for  the  women,  as  is  done  for  the  men  in 
other  places.  It  was  no  small  trouble  to  accomplish  this  ; 
for  though  the  subscription  was  only  three  half-pence  a 
week,  it  was  more  than  they  could  always  raise ;  yet  the 
object  appeared  so  important,  that  I  found  it  would  be 
good  economy  privately  to  give  widows  and  other  very 
poor  women  money  to  pay  their  club.  After  combating 
many  prejudices,  we  carried  this  point,  which  we  took  care 
to  involve  in  the  general  system,  by  making  it  subservient 
to  the  schools,  the  rules  of  the  club  restraining  the  women 
to  such  and  such  points  of  conduct  respecting  the  schools. 
In  some  parishes  we  have  one  hundred  and  fifty  poor 
women  thus  associated ;  you  may  guess  who  are  the 
patronesses." 

These  clubs  proved  a  great  blessing  to  the  little  com 
munities,  in  which  they  were  established,  by  helping  the 
poor  to  husband  their  small  resources  for  a  time  of  need, 
and  teaching  them  the  importance  and  advantage  of 


SUNDAY    SCHOOLS.  145 

economy :  in  sickness,  a  member  received  three  shillings  a 
week,  for  lying-in  seven  shillings  and  sixpence. 

A  girl  trained  in  their  schools  and  sustaining  a  virtuous 
character,  was  presented  on  her  marriage  day  with  fivo 
shillings,  a  pair  of  white  stockings,  and  a  new  Bible. 

"  Henceforth,"  says  Miss  More,  "  I  desire  to  have  little  to 
do  with  the  great.  I  have  devoted  the  remnant  of  my  life 
to  the  poor,  and  those  that  have  no  helper ;  and  if  I  can 
do  them  no  good,  I  can  at  least  sympathize  with  them, 
and  I  know  it  is  some  comfort  for  a  forlorn  creature,  to  be 
able  to  say, 'there  is  something  that  cares  for  me.'  The 
simple  idea  of  being  cared  for,  has  always  appeared  to  me 
a  very  cheering  one  :  besides,  the  affection  they  have  for 
me  is  a  strong  engine  with  which  to  lift  them  to  a  love  of 
higher  things.  Alas,  I  might  do  more  and  better — pray 
for  me." 

When  at  Wrington,  which  now  began  to  be  the  greater 
part  of  the  year,  accompanied  by  one  of  her  sisters,  usually 
Patty,  she  endeavored  to  visit  at  least  three  parishes  every 
Sabbath,  riding  from  ten  to  thirty  miles,  often  enduring 
thirteen  hours,  exposure  to  the  weather,  and  frequently 
passing  the  night  at  some  of  the  villages,  and  all  this  for 
upwards  of  twenty  years : — what  heroic  devotion,  what 
inflexibility  of  purpose,  what  earnest  love  does  it  not 
13 


146  HANNAH     MORE. 

reveal !  At  an  age  too,  when  most  women  are  willing  to 
retire  from  arduous  labor  in  their  Master's  service,  and 
eagerly  beg  to  be  excused  even  from  the  far  less  burden 
some  duty  of  Sabbath-school  instruction  of  our  own  time. 

Her  voluntary  withdrawal  from  circles,  whose  wit,  learn 
ing,  and  elegance  must  present  strong  fascinations  to  a 
mind  gifted  like  hers,  and  where  she  had  had  every  induce 
ment  to  remain,  evinces  the  strength  and  sincerity  of  her 
religious  convictions ;  while  her  blessed  charities  and  abun 
dant  labors  among  the  despised  and  forsaken,  for  whose 
souls  no  man  careth,  shows  the  tender  benevolence  and 
unselfish  sympathies  of  an  humble  and  believing  heart. 

How  beautiful  among  the  cottages  are  the  feet  of  her, 
who  bringeth  glad  tidings  ! 

Christian  disciple,  regardest  thou  not  too  lightly  the 
good  that  thou  mightest  do  among  the  waste  places 
and  hedges  of  life.  If  thou  art  Christ's,  thou  must  be 
Christ-like ;  as  He  yearns  over  poor  lost  souls,  so  must 
thou :  as  He  begat  a  work  to  save  them,  so  must  thy  love 
not  be  a  powerless  and  inefficient  love,  but  a  working, 
saving,  personal  love ;  as  at  the  Well,  the  Pool,  the  Corn 
field  and  the  Garden,  so  like  thy  Divine  Master,  must  thou 
work  while  the  day  lasts :  as  He  went  among  the  poor, 
the  despised,  and  the  lowly  esteemed  among  men,  so  must 


SUNDAY     SCHOOLS.  14*7 

not  thou  neglect  them  :  among  such  thou  shalt  gain  a 
ready  hearing,  and  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Oh, 
there  are  many  watchings,  toilsome  labors,  oppressions, 
heart-breakings,  sinful  murmurings,  long,  sorrowful  days, 
yearnings  for  the  bread  of  life  in  these  humble  homes  : 
visit  them :  tell  of  the  Balm  in  Gilead,  talk  of  a  Saviour's 
love,  narrate  the  story  of  the  Cross :  hearts,  sinful  and 
hard,  will  melt  that  one  careth  for  their  welfare.  Thus 
shall  the  seed  of  Divine  truth  be  sown  in  many  a  home ; 
you  may  never  know  when  or  how  it  shall  spring  up ; 
you  may  never  know  the  travail  of  soul  necessary  for  its 
germination,  but  souls  will  be  born  into  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven  ;  light  will  arise  in  darkness  ;  believing  hearts  will 
be  glimmering  here  and  there  with  faith  and  love,  where 
your  feet  have  trod ;  your  Master  will  be  honored,  and  at 
the  great  day  spirits  redeemed  through  your  labors  of  love, 
shalt  make  up  the  crown  of  your  rejoicing. 


CHAPTER    X. 

in  inrrnm—  3fi*nftip  fnsl. 


MR.  NEWTON  is  smitten  :  pierced  and  wounded  with  the 
arrows  of  affliction,  he  turns  to  Hannah  More  for  the  ten 
der  consolations  of  her  Christian  sympathy  :  his  wife,  the 
idol  of  his  early  days,  the  beloved  companion  of  his  later 
years,  is  no  more.  To  him  it  is  an  hour  of  sorrow  and  of 
joy  :  sorrow  that  she  is  not,  joy  for  the  balm  in  Gilead,  so 
he  writes  :  —  how  beautifully  is  the  tenderness  of  earthly  af 
fection  chastened  and  subdued  by  heavenly  love,  how 
royally  does  the  weeping  mourner  take  refuge  in  Him,  who 
chastens  not  willingly. 

"  I  could  begin  every  letter,"  ran  his,  "  with  the  words  of 
David,  *  Oh  magnify  the  Lord  with  me,  and  let  us  exalt  his 
name  together.'  Great  has  been  his  goodness  !  I  am  a  won 
der  to  many,  and  to  myself.  You  perhaps  know,  madam, 
from  what  you  have  read  of  mine,  and  possibly  from  what 
you  have  seen  in  me,  that  my  attachment  tomy  dearest 
was  great,  yea  excessive,  yea  idolatrous  !  It  was  so  when  it 


NEWTON     IN     SORROW.  149 

began..  I  think  no  writer  of  romance  ever  imagined  moro 
than  I  realized.  It  was  so  when  I  married.  She  was  to 
me  precisely  (how  can  I  write  it  ?)  in  the  place  of  God. 
In  all  places  and  companies  my  thoughts  were  full  of  her. 
I  did  everything  for  her  sake,  and  if  she  was  absent  (for  I 
made  three  long  voyages  to  Africa  afterwards),  I  could 
take  pleasure  in  nothing.  So  narrow  were  my  notions  of 
happiness  at  this  time,  that  I  had  no  idea  that  I  was  capa 
ble  of  anything  greater  or  better  than  of  being  always  with 
her.  By  degrees,  He  who  has  the  only  right  to  my 
heart,  and  who  alone  can  fill  it,  was  pleased  to  make  me 
sensible  of  his  just  claim  ;  and  my  idol  was  brought  some 
steps  lower  down,  yet  still,  I  fear,  there  was  somewhat  of 
the  golden  calf  in  my  love,  from  the  moment  that  joined 
our  hands,  to  the  moment  of  separation.  She  was  cer 
tainly  my  chief  temporal  blessing,  and  the  providential 
hinge  upon  which  all  the  principal  events  of  my  life  have 
turned.  Before  I  was  four  years  old,  she  was  sent  into  the 
world  to  be  my  companion,  and  to  soften  the  rugged  path 
of  life.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  our  union  were  so 
many,  so  great,  so  apparently  insuperable  that  my  hope  of 
obtaining  her  seemed  little  less  chimerical  than  if  I  had 
expected  the  crown  of  Poland.  Yet,  at  the  proper  time  it 
took  place.  Fond  as  I  was  of  her,  I  knew  that  incon- 
13* 


150  HANNAH    MORE. 

stancy  and  mutability  are  primary  attributes  of  the  human 
heart  depraved,  if  left  to  itself  ;  but,  as  the  providence  of 
God  joined  our  hands,  a  secret  blessing  from  him  cemented 
our  hearts,  we  certainly  understood  Thomson  when  he 
says, 

'  Enamored  more  as  more  remembrance  swells 
With  many  a  proof  of  recollected  love.' 

Further,  though  I  had  deserved  to  forfeit  her  every  day  of 
my  life,  yet  he  spared  her  to  me  more  than  forty  years ; 
and,  lastly  (which  is  the  crowning  mercy),  when  he  recalled 
the  loan, — for,  strictly  speaking,  she  was  not  mine,  but  his, 
— he  made  me  willing  to  resign  her.  Through  the  long 
course  of  her  very  trying  illness,  he  supported  me. 
Though  my  feelings  were  often  painful,  I  believe  a  stranger 
who  had  seen  me  in  company,  or  heard  me  from  the  pul 
pit,  would  hardly  have  suspected  what  was  passing  at 
home.  On  the  evening  of  the  15th  instant  I  watched  her, 
with  a  candle  in  my  hand,  for  some  hours  ;  and  when  I 
was  sure  she  had  breathed  her  last, — which  could  not  at 
once  be  determined,  she  went  away  so  easily, — I  kneeled 
down  by  her  bedside,  with  those  who  were  in  the  room, 
and  thanked  the  Lord,  I  trust,  with  all  my  heart,  for  her 
dismission.  I  slept  this  night  as  well  as  usual ;  and,  in 


NEWTON     IN     SORROW.  151 

defiance  of  the  laws  of  tyrant  custom,  I  continued  to 
preach  while  she  lay  dead  in  the  house.  We  deposited 
her  in  our  own  vault  the  23d,  and  last  Sunday  evening  I 
was  enabled  to  preach  her  funeral-sermon,  from  Habak- 
kuk,  iii.  17,  18. 

"  In  writing  to  you  I  feel  my  heart  open  :  I  am  assured 
of  meeting  from  you  with  that  sympathy  and  sensibility 
of  which  I  hope  I  am  not  myself  wholly  destitute ;  and 
therefore  I  will  tattle  on.  This  was  not  a  sudden  stroke. 
She  did  not  die  by  a  flash  of  lightning,  by  what  is  called 
accident,  nor  by  those  rapid  disorders  which  break  the 
thread  of  life  in  a  few  days  or  hours.  The  Lord  gave  me 
time  to  prepare  for  it ;  yea,  by  the  gradual  train  of  his 
dispensations,  he  gradually  prepared  me  for  it  himself. 

"  She  was  confined  to  the  house  nearly  ten .  years,  ex 
cepting  that  in  September,  1789,  she  was  enabled  to  go 
for  a  month  to  Southampton,  and  during  the  last  autumn 
went  out  every  evening  in  a  coach,  for  a  little  air.  But 
she  was  shut  up  from  the  house  of  God,  and  from  visiting 
her  friends,  though,  till  about  September,  she  could  gen 
erally  receive  them  at  home.  Indeed,  till  about  that 
time,  I  did  not  give  up  all  hope  of  her  recovery.  But  a 
total  loss  of  appetite,  or  rather,  a  loathing  of  food,  then 
took  place,  which  soon  reduced  her  to  a  state  of  great 


152  HANNAH     MORE. 

weakness.  In  the  beginning  of  October  she  took  to  her 
bed,  and  was  soon  after,  I  suppose  from  some  defect  in  the 
spine,  deprived  of  all  locomotive  power.  She  could  neither 
move  herself,  nor  without  the  greatest  difficulty,  be  moved  ; 
sometimes  not  so  much  as  to  have  anything  about  her 
changed  for  a  fortnight  together.  Such,  my  dear  madam, 
was  the  state  of  my  idol ;  what  a  rebuke — what  a  lesson 
was  it  to  me,  to  see  her  lie  for  eight  or  nine  weeks  in  so 
sad  and  pitiable  a  situation !  But  the  case  was  mingled 
with  many  merciful  alleviations.  Her  patience  was  won 
derful, — her  natural  spirit  as  good  as  when  she  was  in 
health.  Often  when  my  eyes  were  full  of  tears,  she  has 
constrained  me  to  smile.  When  she  could  not  move  her 
body,  she  was  .thankful  that  she  could  move  her  hands, 
thankful  that  the  Lord  had  laid  no  more  upon  her  than 
she  could  bear ;  and  when  I  once  said,  '  You  are  a  great 
sufferer,'  she  replied,  *  I  do  suffer,  but  not  greatly.'  So  to 
know  that  we  are  sinners,  and  so  to  know  the  Saviour,  as 
to  feel  both  the  necessity  and  the  liberty  of  applying  to 
him,  constitutes  that  knowledge  which  chiefly  deserves  the 
name  ;  and  this,  I  trust,  was  her  privilege  long  before  her 
last  illness.  But  the  enemy  of  our  peace  found  advantage 
from  the  weakness  of  her  frame,  to  distress  her  with  doubts 
which  did  not  so  directly  apply  to  her.  own  state  as  to  the 


NEWTON     IN     SORROW.  153 

whole  system  of  truth.  She  said,  '  If  there  be  a  Saviour,' 
— *  If  there  be  a  God.'  In  this  interval,  which  lasted  near 
a  fortnight,  there  was  some  abatement  of  that  serenity  I 
spoke  of,  some  signs  of  impatience,  and  she  discovered  a 
strong  reluctance  to  the  thought  of  dying.  Then  was  my 
sharpest  trial ;  but  the  cloud  gradually  wore  off,  and  for 
the  last  month  she  spoke  of  her  departure  with  great  com 
posure,  and  seemed  perfectly  reconciled  to  it.  Yet,  she 
never  recovered  strength  and  freedom  to  speak  much 
to  me  about  herself.  The  Sunday  before  she  died,  I  said, 
'  If  you  cannot  easily  speak,  and  if  your  mind  be  at 
peace,  I  wish  you  to  signify  it  by  holding  up  your  hand.' 
She  immediately  held  it  up,  and  waved  it  for  a  little  time. 
This  from  her,  who  knew  the  Gospel  so  well,  comforted 
and  satisfied  me.  It  reminded  me  of  the  striking  scene  in 
Shakspeare,  of  Cardinal  Beaufort,  which  closes  with,  '  He 
dies — but  gives  no  sign.'  Blessed  be  God,  it  was  not  her 
case ! 

"  In  the  course  of  the  day  she  asked  for  me,  though  I 
was  seldom  long  or  far  from  her ;  but  her  head  was  so 
much  affected  by  lying  many  weeks  in  one  position,  that 
though  perfectly  sensible,  she  could  hardly  bear  the  sound 
of  the  gentlest  voice,  or  the  softest  footsteps  upon  the  car 
pet.  I  went  to  her ;  she  stroked  my  face,  squeezed  my 


154  HANNAH      MORE. 

hand,  and  said,  '  My  pretty  dear !'  an  appellation  she  fre 
quently  gave  me.  We  both  dropped  a  few  tears.  These 
were  the  last  words  I  heard  her  speak,  and  I  could  say  but 
little.  Such  was  our  last  fere  well.  From  that  night  till 
she  obtained  her  release,  she  gave  little  sign  of  life  but  by 
breathing. 

"  Now,  my  dear  madam,  I  have  done.  I  shall  trouble 
you  with  no  more  in  this  strain.  She  is  gone — and  may  I 
not  add,  I  am  going  ?  For  though  my  health  was  never 
better  than  at  present,  I  am  advancing  in  my  66th  year. 
What  is  the  world  to  me  now  ?  All  the  treasures  of  the 
Bank  of  England  could  not  repair  my  loss,  or  even  abate 
my  sense  of  it.  My  chief  earthly  tie  to  this  life  is  broken ; 
yet,  I  thank  God,  I  am  willing  to  live,  while  he  has  any 
service  for  me  to  do,  or  rather,  while  he  pleases,  whether  I 
can  serve  him  or  not,  provided  I  am  favored  with  sub 
mission  to  his  will.  I  have  lost  my  right  hand.  He  has 
made  me  willing  to  part  with  it,  but  I  must  expect  to  miss 
it  often.  However,  I  thank  him,  I  am  by  no  means  un 
comfortable.  I  am  satisfied  he  does  all  things  well ;  and 
though  some  months  ago,  had  it  been  lawful,  I  would  have 
redeemed  her  life  and  health  by  the  sacrifice  of  a  limb, 
and  thought  the  purchase  cheap ;  yet,  now  his  will  is  made 
known  by  the  event,  I  trust  I  can  from  the  heart  say, 


NEWTON     IN     SORROW.  155 

with  Fenelon, '  I  would  not  take  up  a  straw  to  have  things 
otherwise  than  they  are.'  Time  is  short.  A  new  and  in 
conceivable  scene  will  soon  open  upon  us,  and  if  they  who 
now  '  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy,'  they  may  smile  while 
they  weep. 

"  We  seem  to  want  some  other  word  by  which  to  denote 
our  supreme  regard  for  God,  than  that  which  expresses 
our  affection  to  creatures.  When  we  speak  of  loving  him, 
it  must  be  in  a  different  sense.  Creature-love  is  a  passion  ; 
Divine  love  is  a  principle.  It  arises  from  an  apprehension 
of  his  adorable  perfections,  especially  as  they  are  displayed 
in  the  great  work  of  redemption,  without  which  it  is 
impossible  for  a  sinner  to  love  him. 

"  There  is  a  sensibility  of  feeling  in  creature-love,  which 
is  no  proper  standard  of  our  love  to  God.  This  depending 
much  upon  condition  and  the  state  of  the  animal  spirits, 
is  different  in  different  persons,  and  in  the  same  persons 
at  different  times.  It  is  variable  as  the  weather,  and  indeed 
is  often  affected  by  the  weather  and  a  thousand  local 
circumstances,  no  more  in  our  power  than  the  clouds  that 
%  over  our  heads.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  judge 
more  favorably  of  ourselves  on  this  point  on  a  bright 
summer's  day,  and  while  contemplating  a  beautiful  pros 
pect,  than  in  the  gloom  of  winter,  or  the  hurry  of  Cheap- 


156  HANNAH      MORE. 

side.  The  high  affection  of  some  people  may  be  compared 
lo  a  summer's  brook  after  a  hasty  rain,  which  is  full  and 
noisy  for  a  little  time,  but  soon  becomes  dry.  But  true 
divine  love  is  like  a  river  which  always  runs,  though  not 
always  with  equal  depth  and  flow,  and  never  ceases  till  it 
finds  the  ocean.  The  best  evidences  are — admiration  of  his 
way  of  saving  sinners, — humble  dependence  on  his  care, — 
desire  of  communion  with  him  in  his  instituted  means  of 
grace, — submission  to  the  will  of  his  providence,  and 
obedience  to  the  dictation  of  his  precepts.  To  keep  his 
commandments,  and  to  keep  them  as  His  commandments 
from  a  sense  of  his  authority  and  goodness,  is  the  best, 
the  most  unsuspicious  test  of  our  love  to  Him." 

Who  can  read  this  letter,  without  feeling  the  power  and 
value  of  genuine  piety  ?  It  is  among  the  most  beautiful 
records  of  what  God  can  do  for  the  soul  trusting  in  Him ; 
how  his  grace  can  subdue  and  control  the  strongest  earthly 
passion,  and  grant  consolation,  yea  joy,  in  the  hours  of 
deepest  sorrow. 

A  year  after,  Newton  comes  to  Cowslip  Green. 

"Pray,  my  dear  sir,"  wrote  Miss  More  in  a  note,  which 
met  him  on  the  way,  "  try  to  divert  your  mind  from  the 
delights  and  elegances  of  Teston,  before  you  turn  your 
way  towards  my  little  thatched  cottage,  where  a  quiet 


NEWTON    IN     SORROW.  157 

cell,  a  few  books,  a  maple  dish  and  a  *  dinner  of  herbs'  aro 
all  you  can  in  reason  expect — but  then,  I  hope  we  shall  be 
able  to  furnish  the  appropriate  sauce  of  '  quietness  there 
with,'  for  which  I  trust  you  will  be  contented  to  renounce 
the  stalled  ox  of  noisy  London." 

He  passed  a  week  there  in  August ;  a  week  of  delight 
ful  Christian  intercourse,  the  memory  of  which,  ever  after 
wards,  cheered  him  on  his  solitary  pilgrimage  :  how  they 
rode  to  Shipham  and  visited  the  schools,  how  the  thunder 
storm  frightened  Miss  Catlett,  how  Mr.  Newton  smoked 
his  pipe,  and  Patty  talked  of  Cowper, — ah  yes,  how  pleas 
ant  is  the  memory  of  daily  incidents  in  the  visit  of  a 
friend. 

In  passing  King  Weston's  hill  on  his  homeward  journey, 
nothing  in  the  wide  and  beautiful  prospect  delighted  his 
eye  like  a  glimpse  of  the  Mendip  Ridge,  "  yes,  yes,  and  I 
was  so  foolish  as  almost  to  envy  a  hill,  which,  if  it  had 
eyes  like  me,  might  look  at  Cowslip  Green  from  morning 
till  night." 

Nor  is  the  interest  dimmed  by  the  dirt  of  Cheapside,  or 
duties  of  Colman-street ; 

"  In  Helicon  could  I  my  pen  dip 
I  might  attempt  the  praise  of  Mendip ; 
14 


158  HANNAH      MORE. 

Were  bards  an  hundred,  I'd  outstrip  'em 
If  equal  to  the  fame  of  Shipham ; 
But  harder  still  the  task,  I  ween, 
To  give  its  due  to  Cowslip  Green," 

writes  he  in  quaint  and  curious  numbers. 

"  Every  Sunday  morning  my  thoughts  set  out  in  quest 
of  you  and  Miss  Patty,  and  though  I  know  not  what  road 
you  have  taken,  I  seldom  miss  finding  you.  There  is  a 
communion  of  spirit  among  the  believing  members  of  that 
body  of  which  Christ  is  the  living  head,  which  I  believe  is 
not  impeded  by  local  distance." 

"I  assure  you,"  replied  Miss  More,  "your  kind  wishes, 
and  your  affectionate  remembrance  of  the  mountains  of 
Mendip  and  of  the  little  hermitage  at  the  foot  of  it,  are 
returned  with  great  sincerity.  Your  pipe  still  maintains 
its  station  in  the  black-currant  bush,  and  that,  hand  would 
be  deemed  very  presumptuous  and  disrespectful  which 
should  presume  to  displace  it.  For  my  own  part,  the  pipe 
of  Tityrus,  though  in  my  youthful  days  I  liked  it  passing 
well,  would  not  now  be  deemed  a  more  venerable  relic ; 
and  even  the  little  sick  maid  Lizzy,  who  gratefully  remem 
bers  the  spiritual  comfort  you  administered  to  her,  often 
cries  out,  *  Oh  dear !  I  hope  nobody  will  break  Mr.  New 
ton's  pipe.' 


MEN  DIP     FEAST.  159 

"  Patty  and  I  remember  you  as  we  are  trotting  over  the 
hills.  She  desires  her  affectionate  regards,  as  do  all  the 
rest.  You  would  enjoy  the  vale  of  Cowslips  in  this  re 
newed  spring :  we  have  everything  of  the  golden  age 
except  the  innocence ;  the  garden  is  full  of  roses  as  in  June, 
and  an  apple-tree  literally  covered  at  the  same  moment 
with  fruit  nearly  ripe  and  fresh  blossoms." 

Patty  had  long  desired  to  enrich  her  album  from  the 
pen  of  Cowper,  whose  poems  were  in  high  favor  at  Cow 
slip  Green.  Newton,  the  poet's  friend  and  former  pastor 
at  Olney,  undertook  to  lay  her  request  before  him,  who,  to 
show  his  readiness  in  obliging  an  old  friend  and  a  fair  lady, 
sent  the  following  couplet,  which  held  a  conspicuous  place 
on  her  pages. 

"  In  vain  to  live  from  age  to  age 
We  modern  bards  endeavor ; 
In  Patty's  book  I  wrote  one  page, 
And  gained  my  point  forever." 

In  order  to  increase  a  general  interest  in  the  schools, 
and  reward  the  punctual  attendance  of  the  scholars,  the 
ladies  busied  themselves  in  preparing  a  Feast,  or  what 
now-a-day  we  might  call  a  Sabbath-school  Picnic,  the  first 
of  the  kind  perhaps  ever  held.  The  spot,  selected  on  this 


160  HANNAH     MORE. 

occasion,  was  on  one  of  the  Mendip  hills,  eight  miles  from 
Cowslip  Green,  commanding  a  beautiful  and  varying  pros 
pect  of  the  British  channel  and  the  Welsh  mountains, 
with  quiet  hamlets  in  the  foreground :  a  spot  of  land  was 
fenced  in,  tents  were  pitched,  and  tables  spread ;  children 
and  teachers  flocked  to  the  spot  at  an  early  hour ;  a  large 
party  in  wagons  started  from  Cowslip  Green,  while  the 
strangeness  of  the  event  attracted  innumerable  lookers-on 
without  the  enclosure.  Psalms  were  prettily  sung,  perhaps 
addresses  were  happily  made,  and  nine  hundred  sat  down 
to  a  dinner  of  beef,  plum  pudding,  and  cider :  all  the 
neighboring  clergy  were  present,  and  grace  was  said  at 
each  table ;  the  day  was  fine,  and  Miss  Patty's  fears 
speedily  subsided  before  the  good  order  and  decorum 
which  everywhere  prevailed  throughout  this  immense 
gathering.  A  general  chorus  of  "  God  save  the  King" 
closed  the  festivities  of  the  day,  Miss  More  ever  inculcating 
loyalty  among  the  duties  of  religion. 

The  female  clubs  also  had  their  anniversary  days,  when 
the  members  heard  a  sermon  at  the  parish  church,  and 
then,  adjourning  to  one  of  the  school-rooms,  prettily  deco 
rated  for  the  occasion,  with  flowers  and  evergreens,  tea  and 
cakes  were  served  by  Miss  More  and  her  sisters.  These 
feasts,  which  continued  to  be  held,  from  time  to  time,  were 


MENDIP     FEAST.  161 

attended  with  the  most  beneficial  results,  in  arousing  the 
self-respect  of  the  poor,  and  creating  a  stronger  sympathy 
in  their  behalf  among  those  whose  power  it  was  to  benefit. 

A  train  of  carnages,  extending  no  less  than  a  mile,  fre 
quently  left  Cowslip  Green  on  such  occasions,  nor  did  the 
highest  dignitaries  in  church  or  state  disdain  the  thatched 
school-houses  of  Cheddar  and  Sliipham. 

On  one  pleasant  summer's  day,  a  gentleman  came  that 
way.  "  How  beautiful  is  this  !"  he  said  to  himself,  stopping 
at  the  gate,  to  survey  the  rural  charms  of  Cowslip  Green. 

Miss  Mary  More  issued  from  the  shrubbery,  and  with 
hospitable  intent,  invited  the  stranger  to  enter. 

Delighted  with  the  situation  and  garden,  he  inquired  to 
whom  it  belonged. 

"  Miss  Hannah  More,"  was  the  reply  of  the  eldest. 

His  surprise  seemed  only  equal  to  his  pleasure.  An  in 
troduction  followed,  and  Mr.  Turner,  for  it  was  he,  was 
willingly  led  to  the  house,  where  Hannah  herself  received 
her  former  lover  with  the  utmost  cordiality  and  kindness. 

Their  long-suspended  intercourse  was  renewed,  and  re 
mained  unbroken  until  his  death.  He  became  a  not  un- 
frequent  guest  at  the  Cottage,  and  was  the  delighted  spec 
tator  of  the  last  picnic  given  by  the  ladies  on  the  Mendip 
Ridge. 


162  HANK  A  II       MO  KE. 

"Every  cloud  has  a  silver  lining;"  what  may  have 
been  a  source  of  disappointment  and  mortification  to  Miss 
More  in  her  earlier  days,  led  to  a  life  of  usefulness,  at 
once  so  conspicuous  and  exalted,  that  her  praise  dwells 
upon  every  lip,  and  her  example  quickens  and  encourages 
every  heart. 


CHAPTER    XL 

Will  <C{iip  flttfr  jiia 


THE  angry  clouds  of  revolution  which  swept  over  France 
during  the  last  part  of  the  last  century,  began  to  gather 
around  and  darken  the  English  horizon.  The  fond  hopes 
which  had  been  awakened  by  the  assembling  of  the  States- 
general,  and  which  had  given  an  unwonted  glow  to  all 
those  who  desired  her  freedom  from  the  political  and  social 
evils  which  encumbered  her,  had  long  since  been  dissi 
pated  :  in  place  of  reform  there  was  revolution  ;  confu 
sion  and  anarchy  followed  with  swift  and  sudden  step; 
opinions  and  principles  hostile  to  order,  government,  and 
religion,  were  propagated  under  the  guise  of  philosophy 
and  fraternity,  seducing  the  unwary  by  a  promised  good, 
which  could  never  be  fulfilled.  The  clubs  of  France  had 
overturned  and  overturned,  until  the  throne,  the  State,  the 
church,  all  civil,  social,  and  moral  law  had  been  trampled 
down,  and  the  bleeding  and  stricken  people  were  left  to 
the  reckless  fury  of  leaders  who  knew  not  God,  neither  re- 


164  HANNAH     MORE. 

garded  man.  Wild  as  was  this  spirit  of  reform,  it  swept 
over  the  English  channel,  driving  from  city  to  city,  gather 
ing  up  the  loose  and  discordant  elements  of  the  English 
masses,  threatening  the  peace  of  society,  and  the  stability 
of  the  state. 

As  the  agitation  and  discontent  were  beneath  the  sur 
face,  grumbling  and  muttering  in  the  work-shops,  the  ale 
houses,  and  the  club-meetings,  much  of  it  was  beyond  the 
reach  of  statesmen,  and  below  the  cognizance  of  law : 
yet  it  needed  to  be  met,  met  decidedly,  yet  naturally ;  met 
on  its  own  grounds,  with  its  own  weapons, — English  sense 
against  French  fraternity ;  tract  and  pamphlet  against  tract 
and  pamphlet.  Dr.  Paley  was  enlisted  in  the  service- 
He  wrote  "  Reasons  for  Contentment,"  and  a  Prebend  of  St. 
Paul's  was  his  reward.  The  book  aimed  above  the  mark  : 
it  relieved  the  anxiety  of  a  higher  class,  but  it  did  not 
quell  the  tumultuous  hopes,  or  answer  the  dangerous 
sophistry  of  the  discontented  or  seditious.  Something 
more  direct,  more  practical,  more  lively,  was  wanted  ;  some 
body  with  quick  wit  and  sound  sense,  withal,  who  knew 
the  men  he  had  to  deal  with.  At  last,  Will  Chip  showed 
himself  to  the  English  public.  Will  Chip,  with  no  more, 
as  it  were,  than  a  sling  and  a  few  smooth  stones,  ventured 
forth  to  meet  the  great  Goliath  of  the  times.  Will  Chip 


WILL     CHIP     AND     HIS     BRETHREN.  165 

makes  no  boasts :  he  simply  asks  to  be  heard  and  read, — 
he  has  written  "  Village  Politics,"  a  tract,  very  brief,  and 
as  everybody  began  to  say,  on  reading  it,  very  pertinent 
and  very  pithy.  Bookseller  Rivington  issued  it,  and  his 
shop  is  thronged,  for  wonderful  is  the  demand  for  "  Village 
Politics."  Bishops  christen  it,  lords  bless  it,  landholders 
rejoice  over«it,  everybody  for  law  and  order  are  thankful 
for  it ;  it  multiplies  abundantly  :  one  hundred  thousand 
copies  are  circulated  through  lanes  and  courts,  entering  the 
shops,  knocking  at  the  doors,  looking  out  the  windows  ; — 
it  speedily  makes  the  circuit  of  the  kingdom  ; — it  goes  by 
hosts  into  Scotland  and  Ireland ; — it  leaps  into  France,  and 
passes  into  Italy, — it  is  hawked  and  peddled  ;  in  hall  and 
cottage,  "  Village  Politics"  is  known  and  read.  Will  Chip 
has  proved  himself  a  master-workman ;  they  say  he  is 
thankful  and  contented,  loyal  and  Christian,  with  a  plenty 
to  do,  and  a  heart  to  do  it.  "  What  is  a  French  Demo 
crat,"  cries  Will  Chip,  Jack  Anvil  the  blacksmith  being 
his  mouthpiece,  "  but  one  who  likes  to  be  governed  by  a 
thousand  tyrants,  yet  can't  bear  a  king  ? — and  what  is 
French  equality,  but  every  man  trying  to  pull  down  every 
one  that  is  above  him,  while  instead  of  raising  those  below 
him  to  his  own  level,  he  only  makes  use  of  them  as  steps 
to  raise  himself  to  the  place  of  those  he  has  tumbled 


166  HANNAH     MORE. 

down  ? — and  French  philosophy,  but  to  believe  there  is 
neither  God  or  devil,  heaven  or  hell  ? — and  French  benevo 
lence,  but  contempt  of  religion,  aversion  to  justice,  over 
turning  of  law,  doubting  all  mankind  in  general,  and  hat 
ing  everybody  in  particular  ? — and  as  for  equalization, 
fraternization,  inviolability,  it  is  nonsense,  gibberish,  down 
right  hocus-pocus !"  9 

Will  Chip  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  influential  char 
acters  in  all  England, — he  was  a  man  for  the  time,  and 
people  say  that  his  tact  and  intelligence  did  jiaore  than 
anything  else  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  masses  to  the  follies 
of  French  politics,  and  set  Englishmen  considering  that, 
"  Though  they  had  a  king,  he  was  so  kept  in,  he  could 
not  hurt  the  people  if  he  would ;  that  they  had  as  much 
liberty  as  could  make  them  happy,  more  trade  and  riches 
than  allowed  them  to  be  good ;  the  best  laws  in  the 
world,  if  they  were  more  strictly  enforced,  and  the  best  re 
ligion  in  the  world,  if  it  were  but  better  followed." 

Englishmen  began  to  come  to  their  senses,  and  see  all 
Will  Chip  said  was  true.  But  who  was  this  remarkable 
gentleman, — so  shrewd,  so  pointed,  so  seasonable,  so  con 
versant  with  Village  Politics  and  French  policy  ?  Where 
did  Will  Chip  live  ?  The  Bishop  of  London  knew,  for  he 
writes  to  Mrs.  Chip : — 


WILL     CHIP     AND     HIS     BRETHREN.  167 

"  I  have  this  moment  received  your  husband's  Dialogue, 
and  it  is  supremely  excellent.  I  look  upon  Mr.  Chip  to 
be  one  of  the  finest  writers  of  the  age;  this  work  alone 
will  immortalize  him  ;  and,  what  is  better  still,  I  trust  it 
will  help  to  immortalize  the  constitution.  If  the  sale  is  as 
rapid  as  the  book  is  good,  Mr.  Chip  will  get  an  immense 
income,  and  completely  destroy  all  equality  at  once.  How 
Jack  Anvil  and  Tom  Hod  will  bear  this  I  know  not,  but 
I  shall  rejoice  at  Mr.  Chip's  elevation,  and  should  be 
extremely  glad  at  this  moment  to  shake  him  by  the  hand, 
and  ask  him  to  take  a  family  dinner  with  me.  He  is 
really  a  very  fine  fellow.  I  have  kept  your  secret  most 
religiously. 

**  Your  very  sincere  and  faithful 

"B.  LONDON." 

But  secrets,  like  murder,  will  out.  Mrs.  Boscawen  has 
got  at  it. 

"  Oh,  oh,  say  you  so !"  she  writes  to  Hannah  More. 
"  It  rrmst  have  been  instinct  then  that  has  made  me  send 
for  a  quarter  of  a  hundred  more  of  *  Will  Chip,'  and  still 
for  more  and  more ;  the  last  bale  came  in  yesterday,  and 
I  see  they  will  not  last  the  week  out ;  I  had  better  have 
had  a  hundred  at  once.  Last  week  I  sent  a  packet  to 


168  HANNAH      MORE. 

Badminton,   and    my   duchess   answers   me    thus :    '  We 
have   all  read,  and  delight  in  your  Village  Politics.'     A 
gentleman  here  says  he  shall  send  for  a  gross  of  them  to 
distribute  about  in  his  neighborhood.     I  have  not  had  a 
gross,  to  be  sure,  like  this  Gloucestershire  gentleman,  but  I 
have  had  them  past  counting,  little  thinking — why,  yes,  I 
did  think,   too,  of  somebody,  though  not  just   the   true 
body ;  for  you  must  know  the  first  word  I  ever  heard  of 
poor  Tom  Hod,  or  the  sprightly  consolations  of  his  face 
tious  neighbor  Jack  Anvil,  was  one  night  at  Lady  Cre- 
morne's,  where  the   Bishop  of  London  pulled  them  out 
of  his  pocket,  and  read  the  delectable  dialogue  to  us,  in 
tones  so  suitable  that  he  was  interrupted  continually  with 
our  bursts  of  laughter  (ask  Mrs.  Kennicott  else,  for  "she 
was  of  the  audience),  and  when  he  came  to  'my  lady,' 
and   sent   her  '  to   cold   water,  and   hot   water,  and   salt 
water,  and  fresh  water,'  he  could  not  get  on  at  all,  we 
laughed  so  immoderately.     I  suspected  his  lordship   was 
the  author.     '  Well,'  as  Tom  says,  I  went  home,  and  sure 
enough  I   wrote   upon    a  bit  of  paper   that   minute,  '  a 
quarter  of  a  hundred  of  Will  Chip,  or  Village  Politics,  to 
be  had  at  Rivington's,' — and  this  I  gave  to  citizen  Brown, 
and  bid  him   carry  it   early   next   morning  to   a  certain 
walking  bookseller  of  mine,  who  procures  me  all  the  learn- 


WILL     CHIP     AND     HIS     BRETHREN.  169 

ing  I  deal  in  ;  and  this  was  accordingly  done,  but  did  not 
hold  me  (as  I  said)  three  days — I  have  had  many  recruits 
since,  and  must  have  more.  Last  night  a  gentleman  gave 
me  '  Reasons  for  Contentment,'  by  Archdeacon  Paley,  ad 
dressed  to  the  laboring  part  of  the  British  public.  I  cast 
my  eyes  over  it,  and  though  I  honor  Archdeacon  Paley, 
yet  I  assured  the  giver  that  I  would  send  him  the  produc 
tion  of  one,  the  minute  I  got  home,  who  understood  the 
language  much  better:  and  accordingly  I  despatched  a 
little  packet  of  Will  Chip  before  I  sat  down  at  home.  You 
will  believe  that  I  have  not  forgotten  to  supply  Richmond. 
Our  minister  and  our  apothecary  are  supplied ;  and  the 
first  went  to  the  house  of  Cambridge  and  there  excited 
envy,  Mr.  Cambridge  declaring  he  wished  he  had  written 
it.  Mr.  Rivington  still  dispenses  them  by  thousands  (I 
hope  some  go  to  France),  and  though  he  cannot  get 
anything  by  them,  nor  the  pleasant  author,  yet  both  will 
allow  that  this  is  success." 

It  was  a  new  department  for  Hannah  More  ;  so  useful, 
so  influential,  so  successful  had  she  proved  herself  to  be  on 
the  side  of  government  and  order  as  a  village  politician, 
that  her  excellent  friend,  the  Bishop  of  London,  besought 
her  to  come  out  on  the  side  of  religion  and  the  Bible  in  a 
"  Village  Christianity." 

15 


1*70  HANNAH      MORE. 

The  pen  of  Miss  More  was  not  idle.  If  French  politics 
had  alarmed  and  nerved  her  to  action,  the  unblushing 
confessions  of  French  infidelity  shocked  her  moral  sense, 
and  filled  her  with  the  most  serious  apprehensions. 

"  What,"  exclaimed  citizen  Dupont,  in  an  impassioned 
speech  before  the  national  convention  in  December  1792, 
"  Thrones  are  overturned  !  Sceptres  broken  !  Kings  expire ! 
and  yet  the  altars  of  God  remain  ! 

"  A  single  breath  of  enlightened  reason  will  now  be 
sufficient  to  make  them  disappear:  and  if  humanity  is 
under  obligation  to  the  French  nation  for  the  first  of  these 
benefits,  the  fall  of  Kings,  can  it  be  doubted  that  the 
French  people,  now  sovereign,  will  be  wise  enough,  in 
like  manner,  to  overthrow  those  altars  and  those  idols  to 
which  those  Kings  have  hitherto  made  them  subject? 
Nature  and  Reason,  these  ought  to  be  the  gods  of  man  ! 
These  are  my  gods !  Admire  nature,  cultivate  reason ! 
For  myself,  I  honestly  avow  the  conviction — I  am  an 
atheist !" 

"  Dupont's  and  Manuel's  atheistical  speeches,"  writes  she 
in  April  to  Horace  Walpole,  now  Earl  of  Oxford,  "  have 
stuck  in  my  throat  all  the  winter ;  and  I  have  been  waiting 
for  our  Bishops  and  clergy  to  take  some  notice  of  them, 
but  blasphemy  and  atheism  have  been  allowed  to  become 


WILL     CHIP     AND     HIS     BRETHREN.  l7l 

familiar  to  the  minds  of  our  common  people,  without  any 
attempt  being  made  to  counteract  the  poison." 

The  attempt  was  however  made  by  Miss  More — "  I 
know  how  paltry  is  the  little  I  can  do,"  she  says,  "  but  my 
conscience  tells  me  that  that  little  ought  to  be  done." 

Ah  !  if  every  Christian  were  to  act  thus  !  How  many 
sit  idly  down  to  indulge  in  imaginary  schemes  of  extended 
good,  while  smaller  opportunities  within  their  reach  are 
neglected  and  despised !  how  many  excuse  their  sloth  by 
pleading  the  smallness  of  their  ability,  or  the  inferiority 
of  their  trust !  Oh  !  "  do  the  little  you  can,  for  that  little 
ought  to  be  done."  God  works  through  atoms;  the 
mightiest  ministrations  of  nature  are  carried  on  by  the 
simplest  and  humblest  agencies,  each  doing  its  part  in  the 
universal  plan.  There  is  a  wonderful  power  in  doing ;  it 
enlarges  your  ability  to  do  more ;  it  brightens  the  eye 
and  braces  the  mind,  and  gives  to  life  a  double  zest,  and 
an  unknown  joy. 

Miss  More's  "Remarks  on  the  Speech  of  M.  Dupont," 
made  in  the  National  Convention  on  Religion  and  Public 
Education,  made  its  appearance  in  the  spring,  together 
with  an  address  to  the  Ladies  of  Great  Britain  in  behalf 
of  the  French  emigrant  clergy;  great  numbers  of  those 
exiles  were  found  in  England,  in  extremely  destitute  cir- 


172  HANNAH     MORE. 

cumstances,  many  lacking  the  comforts  and  even  the 
necessaries  of  life.  To  those  in  Bath,  the  sisters  freely 
extended  the  hospitalities  of  their  house,  and  a  thousand 
pounds  were  raised  through  Hannah's  influence  by  the  sale 
of  her  Remarks,  and  subscriptions  raised  by  her  appeal. 

"  Your  work  is  so  much  above  praise,"  writes  Mrs. 
Montagu  to  her,  "  your  mind  so  superior  to  vanity  and  a 
desire  of  fame,  that  I  shall  not  repeat  to  you  a  word  of 
the  universal  admiration  it  has  excited,  and  the  great 
approbation  of  the  sentiments  which  prompted  you  to 
write  it.  I  will  barely  assure  you  of  what  alone  interests 
you,  that  this  work  will  afford  great  assistance  to  the  poor 
refugees,  and  will  be  of  infinite  service  to  the  souls  of 
thousands." 

Thus  in  doing  the  little  she  could,  because  that  little 
ought  to  be  done,  a  stream  of  blessing  gushes  up  where 
her  steps  have  been. 

The  bleakness  of  this  prospect,  is  relieved  by  a  playful 
extract  from  a  letter  by  the  Bishop  of  London  to  the  lady 
of  Cowslip  Gre'en  : — 

"As  you  certainly  belong  to  my  diocess,  and  are  on 
many  accounts  fairly  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  clergy  (for 
you  can  not  onty  read,  but  also  write,  and  even  preach,  to 
the  great  world  more  eloquently  than  most  clergy-women), 


WILL     CHIP     AND     HIS     BRETHREN.  173 

I  cannot  do  very  much  amiss,  I  think,  in  sending  you  the 
enclosed  charge.  There  are  two  things  at  least,  you  will 
learn  from  it, — to  sing  psalms  more  melodiously  in  your 
parish-church,  and  to  reside  more  constantly  in  your  proper 
diocess,  from  which  (as  I  know  by  experience)  you  are  but 
too  apt  to  wander,  and  to  be  led  astray  into  the  flowery 
paths  of  Cowslip,  and  suchlike  seducing  and  dangerous 
places,  where  you  forget,  amid  the  dissipations  of  solitude, 
your  duty  towards  your  neighbor,  and  never  think  of  be 
stowing  one  single  solitary  line  on  Mr.  Walpole,  or  on  me. 
I  have  lately  received  a  letter  from  him,  in  which  he  com 
plains  most  bitterly  of  your  pertinacious  silence.  Pray  let 
us  hear  soon  how  your  cowslips,  and  daisies,  and  acacias 
go  on,  and  how  many  tons  of  hay  you  have  this  year,  for 
I  take  it  for  granted  you  are  a  great  farmer. 

"  Your  friend,  Lord  Oxford,  and  myself  are,  I  believe, 
the  only  persons  in  the  kingdom  worthy  of  the  hot 
weather, — the  onlv  true,  genuine  summer  we  have  had  for 
the  last  thirty  years  ;  we  both  agreed  that  it  was  perfectly 
celestial,  and  that  it  was  quite  scandalous  to  huff  it  away 
as  some  people  did.  A  few  days  before  it  arrived,  all  the 
world  was  complaining  of  the  dreadfully  cold  north-east 
wind ;  and  in  three  days  after  the  warmer  weather  came 
in,  everybody  was  quarrelling  with  the  heat,  and  sinking 
15* 


174  HANNAH      MORE. 

under  the  rays  of  the  sun.  Such  is  that  consistent  and 
contented  thing  called  human  nature.  As  to  ourselves, 
we  enjoyed  with  gratitude  and  delight  this  truly  Italian 
but  short-lived  summer.  We  lived  in  Bishop's  noble 
northern  room  all  the  day,  and  in  the  evening  the  meadows 
were  our  drawing-room :  there  our  little  lawn  was  as  green 
as  an  emerald,  and  kept  constantly  cool  with  fresh  breezes 
from  the  Thames,  while  every  other  field  and  garden  in 
the  kingdom  was  burned  up,  and  brought  actually  to  the 
color  of  a  gravel-walk.  Our  little  cottage  was  indeed 
quite  delicious,  and  this  summer  alone  has  amply  repaid 
rne  for  all  my  trouble  and  expense." 

Great  as  was  the  care  and  labor  of  superintending  the 
Cheddar  schools,  Miss  More  still  projected  new  plans  for 
the  improvement  and  elevation  of  the  laboring  classes. 
There  was  at  that  period  a  great  lack  of  reading,  sufficiently 
cheap,  lively,  and  instructive,  to  be  within  the  range  of 
their  means  or  tastes.  Hannah  More  asked,  "  How  can 
this  deficiency  in  the  smallest  degree  be  made  up  ?"  In 
the  unsettled,  discontented,  and  inquiring  state  of  the 
English  masses,  how  necessary  to  furnish  them  with  the 
right  sort  of  reading :  if  Will  Chip  had  done  such  essen 
tial  service  by  his  sensible  and  judicious  endeavors  in  Vil 
lage  Politics,  might  not  Will  Chip  be  found  to  labor  with 


WILL     CHIP     AND     HIS     BRETHREN.  175 

the  same  efficiency  for  temperance,  for  economy,  for  re 
ligion,  for  social  stability,  and  moral  improvement  ? 

Miss  More  thought  they  could  be  found :  at  least  the  at 
tempt  was  fairly  worth  making ;  thence  sprung  the  plan  * 
of  "  The  Cheap  Repository,"  a   publication  to   furnish  a " 
story,  a  ballad,  and  a  tract  for  Sunday,  every  month,  and  I 
to  be  in  part  sustained  by  subscription,  in  order  to  bring  it 
within  the  means  of  the   humblest   cottager.     The  plan 
met  with  the  warmest  reception  from  Hannah's  friends. 

"  Thank  you  a  thousand  times  for  your  most  ingenious 
plan,"  exclaimed  the  Earl  of  Oxford.  "  May  great  success  re 
ward  you !  How  calm  and  comfortable  must  your  slumbers 
be  on  the  pillow  of  every  day's  good  deeds !"  The  Bishop 
of  London  armed  his  extensive  influence  in  its  behalf,  and 
when  issued,  his  library  table  was  always  covered  with  this 
penny  literature,  in  order  to  make  it  the  subject  of  conver 
sation  with  all  new-comers.  Patty  and  Sarah,  with  other 
friends,  promised  their  assistance,  and  the  work  was  hap 
pily  commenced.  Two  committees  were  formed  in  Lon 
don  to  promote  its  regular  circulation,  and  two  millions 
were  sold  the  first  year. 

In  the  winter  of  the  year  1794,  which  had  been  almost 
unremittingly  occupied  in  work  among  her  schools,  with 
her  pen,  or  in  lesser  schemes  of  active  usefulness,  she  jour- 


176  HANNAH     MORE. 

neyed  to  London,  and  paid  a  few  visits  among  the  balls 
and  haunts  of  wealth  and  leisure. 

"  Last  Saturday  I  dined  with  Mrs.  Montagu.  It  was  al 
most  two  years  since  I  had  found  myself  in  such  grande 
monde ;  so  I  told  them  if  I  should  be  caught  doing  any 
thing  vulgar,  they  must  give  me  a  jog.  We  were  fourteen 
*at  dinner,  and  many  more  were  added  after,  most  of  them 
my  old  and  intimate  friends,  who  seemed  to  receive  me 
with  great  kindness.  I  told  them  to  make  much  of  me, 
for  their  opportunities  of  seeing  such  a  rarity  would  be 
few.  Mrs.  Montagu  is  well,  bright,  and  in  full  song,  and 
had  spread  far  and  wide  the  fame  of  Cowslip  Green,  and 
the  day  she  passed  there.  In  the  midst  of  all  the  splendor 
of  lights,  and  grandeur,  and  luxury,  word  was  brought  in 

of  the  death  of  poor  Lady  E .  It  was  a  tremendous 

warning :  she  was  an  amiable,  generous,  and  charitable 
woman,  but  was  immersed  in  luxury  and  splendor. 

"  I  went  to  Mrs.  Boscawen,  with  whom  I  shall  make  a 
point  to  pass  all  the  time  I  can  spare.  We  have  had 
many  hours'  quiet  discussion.  She  is  better,  but  I  fear 
breaking  up. 

"  Three  o'clock. — Called  down  to  Mr.  Henry  Thornton, 
just  arrived  from  Clapham,  where  he,  Mr.  Wilberforce,  and 
Mr.  Elliott  have  been  quietly  enjoying  themselves  several 


WILL     CHIP     AND     HIS     BRETHREN.  177 

days.  We  have  had  two  or  three  hours'  prate,  but  our 
spirits  were  not  exhausted :  he  is  not  in  very  stout  health. 
Yesterday  I  went  to  hear  Mr.  Cecil, — Naaman  the  Syrian 
— very  excellent." 

Brief  records  of  herself,  penned  at  this  time,  reveal  the 
jealousy  with  which  she  watched  her  straying  affections, 
lest  the  beautiful  and  attractive  accomplishments  of  Lon 
don  life  might  seduce  her  from  that  watchfulness,  stead 
fastness,  and  self-discipline,  without  which  it  is  difficult, 
nay,  impossible,  to  maintain  the  spirit  and  the  essential 
traits  of  Christian  character. 

March. — "  Dined  with  friends  at  Mrs. What  dost 

thou  here,  Elijah  ?  Felt  too  much  pleased  at  the  pleasure 
expressed  by  so  many  accomplished  friends,  on  seeing  me 
again.  Keep  me  from  contagion." 

Sunday. —  "I  see  the  need  of  doing  the  duty  of  every 
day  in  its  day.  When  I  look  back  on  the  past  week,  I 
see  cause  of  mourning  over  my  vanity  and  folly.  Sloth 
and  self  are  getting  strong  dominion,  and  much  time 
wasted,  which  I  had  devoted  to  improvement.  Let  these 
continual  discoveries  make  me  humble." 

May. — "  Came  to  Fulham  to  my  dear  bishop — much 
kindness — literary  and  elegant  society ;  but  the  habits  of 
polished  life,  even  of  virtuous  and  pious  people,  are  too  re- 


1Y8  HANNAH      MORE. 

laxing.  Much  serious  reading,  but  not  a  serious  spirit; 
good  health,  with  increased  relaxation  of  mind  ;  thus  are 
the  blessings  of  God  turned  against  himself." 

Some  of  Miss  More's  most  capital  efforts  were  in  the 
pages  of  the  Cheap  Repository.  The  Shepherd  of  Salis 
bury  Plain,  originally  one  of  the  Sunday  Tracts  of  this 
publication,  alone  will  immortalize  her,  whose  Mr.  Johnson 
is  the  dear  and  early  friend  of  the  sisters,  Sir  James  Stone- 
house  ;  and  the  Shepherd's  humble  cottage  on  Cherril 
Down,  is  still  pointed  to  the  traveller  in  quest  of  curious 
relics. 

Her  ballads  obtained  great  favor  and  influence  through 
out  the  kingdom.  In  consequence  of  the  political  distrac 
tions  of  the  Continent,  and  the  war  which  England  was 
called  upon  to  wage,  together  with  the  extreme  severity  of 
the  weather,  in  1795,  which  cut  off  the  crops,  there  was 
great  suffering  among  the  lower  classes  of  the  English 
people  ;  cold,  scarcity,  and  discontent  everywhere  pre 
vailed  to  an  unusual  and  alarming  degree.  The  Cheap 
( Repository,  with  wonderful  sagacity,  furnished  plans  and 
\precepts  for  enabling  the  people  to  bear  the  ills  which 
Dressed  so  heavily  upon  them,  and  inculcated  religious 
truths  in  so  simple  and  direct  a  manner,  that  the  faith  of 
multitudes,  alarmed  by  the  plausible  and  shallow  argu- 


WILL     CHIP     AND     HIS     BRETHREN.  179 

ments  of  infidelity,  became  confirmed  and  strengthened  in 
the  good  old  ways  of  their  fathers. 

Numerous  and  illustrious  was  the  race  of  Chips.  Mrs. 
Jones'  cheap  dishes  in  "  Hester  Wilmot,"  were  in  repute 
even  at  the  tables  of  the  rich  ;  "  Black  Giles  the  Poacher" 
frightened  everybody  trying  to  live  by  their  wits,  rather 
than  their  work ;  no  temperance  agent  ever  effected  more 
good  than  "  Sorrowful  Sam,"  while  the  "  Riot"  ballad  sea 
sonably  sung  among  a  gang  of  miners  on  the  eve  of  a 
rising,  opened  their  eyes  to  the  truth  of  Jack  Anvil's 
eloquent  appeal, 

"  What  a  whimsey  to  think  thus  our  bellies  to  fill, 
For  we  stop  all  the  grinding  by  breaking  the  mill ! 
What  a  whimsey  to  think  we  shall  get  more  to  eat 
By  abusing  the  butchers  who  get  us  the  meat ! 
What  a  whimsey  to  think  we  shall  mend  our  spare  diet, 
By  breeding  disturbance,  by  murder  and  riot," 

and    saved   the  mills,  spared   the  butchers,  and  restored 
quiet  to  a  most  seditious  neighborhood. 

Bishop  Butler's  analogy  for  half-penny,  is  surely  worthy 
of  a  record ;  the  doubts,  perplexities  and  sinful  grumblings, 
of  many  a  one  careful  and  troubled  about  many  things, 
are  happily  and  sensibly  rebuked  iu  this  most  excellent 


180  HANNAH     MORE. 

epitome  of  one  of  the  grand  truths  of  God's  providential 
government ;  indeed,  no  one  can  read  "  Turn  the  Carpet," 
without  having  his  faith  confirmed,  and,  whether  he  confess 
it  or  not,  becoming  more  ashamed  of  envious  comparisons 
and  ungrateful  murmurs  than  he  ever  was  before. 

TURN  THE  CARPET, 

OR,      THE     TWO      WEAVERS. 

IN  A  DIALOGUE  BETWEEN  DICK  AND  JOHN. 

As  at  their  work  two  weavers  sat, 
Beguiling  time  with  friendly  chat ; 
They  touch'd  upon  the  price  of  meat, 
So  high,  a  weaver  scarce  could  eat. 

"  What  with  my  brats  and  sickly  wife," 
Quoth  Dick,  "  I'm  almost  tir'd  of  life : 
So  hard  my  work,  so  poor  my  fare, 
'Tis  more  than  mortal  man  can  bear. 

How  glorious  is  the  rich  man's  state ! 
His  house  so  fine  !  his  wealth  so  great ! 
Heav'n  is  unjust,  you  must  agree, 
Why  all  to  him?  why  none  to  me? 

In  spite  of  what  the  Scripture  teaches, 
In  spite  of  all  the  parson  preaches, 
This  world  (indeed  I've  thought  so  long) 
Is  rul'd,  inetbhiks,  extremely  wrong. 


WILL     CHIP     AND     HIS     BRETHREN.  181 

Where'er  I  look,  howe'er  I  range, 
'Tis  all  confus'd,  and  hard,  and  strange, 
The  good  are  troubled  and  oppress'^, 
And  all  the  wicked  are  the  bless 'd." 

Quoth  John :  "  Our  ign'rance  is  the  cause 
Why  thus  we  blame  our  Maker's  laws; 
Parts  of  his  ways  alone  we  know, 
'Tis  all  that  man  can  see  below. 

See'st  thou  that  carpet,  not  half  done, 
Which  thou,  dear  Dick,  hast  well  begun? 
Behold  the  wild  confusion  there, 
So  rude  the  mass  it  makes  one  stare ! 

A  stranger,  ign'rant  of  the  trade, 
Would  say,  no  meaning's  there  convey'd; 
For  where's  the  middle,  where's  the  border  5 
Thy  carpet  now  is  all  disorder." 

Quoth  Dick,  "My  work  is  yet  in  bits, 
But  still  in  ev'ry  part  it  fits ; 
Besides,  you  reason  like  a  lout, 
Why,  man,  that  carpet's  inside  out." 

Says  John,  "  Thou  say'st  the  thing  I  mean, 
And  now  I  hope  to  cure  thy  spleen ; 
This  world,  which  clouds  thy  soul  with  doubt, 
Is  but  a  carpet  inside  out. 
10 


182  HANNAH     MO  RE. 

As  when  we  view  these  shreds  and  ends, 
We  know  not  what  the  whole  intends ; 
So  when  on  earth  things  look  but  odd, 
They're  working  still  some  scheme  of  God. 

No  plan,  no  pattern,  can  we  trace, 
All  wants  proportion,  truth,  and  grace ; 
The  motley  mixture  we  deride, 
Nor  see  the  beauteous  upper  side. 

But  when  we  reach  that  world  of  light, 
And  view  those  works  of  God  aright, 
Then  shall  we  see  the  whole  design, 
And  own  the  workman  is  divine. 

What  now  seem  random  strokes,  will  there 
All  order  and  design  appear; 
Then  shall  we  praise  what  here  we  spurn'd 
For  then  the  carpet  shall  be  turn'd" 

"  Thou'rt  right,"  quoth  Dick,  "  no  more  I'll  grumble 
That  this  sad  world's  so  strange  a  jumble  ; 
My  impious  doubts  are  put  to  flight, 
For  my  own  carpet  sets  me  right." 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Etii  <Dppn0itintt* 

IN  the  leafy  month  of  June,  Wilberforce  made  a  bridal 
journey  to  Cowslip  Green ;  Miss  More  willingly  abandoned 
the  splendors  of  London,  whither  she  annually  went  to 
visit  ,1  few  of  the  old  and  well-beloved,  to  welcome  the 
newly  married.  "  By  this  coming,"  she  says,  "  he  prepaid 
a  sort  of  vow,  made  many  years  since, — you  will  think 
it  not  amiss  to  make  his  agreeable  wife  set  out  with  such 
an  act  of  humility." 

On  the  following  Sunday,  in  company  with  the  sisters, 
he  visited  the  schools  of  Shipham,  Axbridge,  and  Cheddar, 
the  last  of  which  particularly  delighted  him  :  Cheddar 
then  was  not  the  Cheddar  of  his  first  visit,  eight  years  be 
fore,  when  the  sight  of  its  ignorant  and  wretched  poor 
robbed  him  of  the  pleasure,  which  the  beauties  of  the  sur 
rounding  scenery  might  have  otherwise  afforded  him.  The 
Sabbath-school  had  been  there,  preaching  its  gospel  of 
law,  and  waste  homes  and  desolate  hearts  had  begun  to 


184  HANNAH      MORE. 

bud  and  blossom  like  the  rose.  Wilberforce  rejoiced  and 
thanked  God  for  the  blessed  sight. 

This  year,  1797,  had  been  marked  by  his  marriage  and 
the  printing  of  his  "  Practical  Christianity,"  for  its  publication 
had  long  been  before  the  world,  by  his  life,  a  living  epistle, 
known  and  read  by  all  men.  Practical  Christianity  was 
then  at  a  very  low  ebb ;  there  was  little  or  no  demand  for 
religious  reading,  and  many  of  his  friends  tried  to  dissuade 
him  from  issuing  a  work  of  this  kind. 

"  If  you  put  your  name  to  it,  you  may  possibly  sell  five 
hundred  copies,"  said  his  bookseller,  looking  as  if  he 
thought  that  extremely  doubtful.  But  the  hidden  want 
of  the  times,  widely  felt,  was  yet  little  understood :  a  re 
ligious  book  of  its  nature  and  spirit  was  needed,  and  when 
it  appeared,  the  supply  met  a  demand,  at  least  in  the 
material,  for  in  a  few  days  it  was  out  of  print. 

"  I  am  truly  thankful  to  Providence,"  says  the  excellent 
Bishop  Porteus,  "  that  a  work  of  this  nature  has  made  its 
appearance  at  this  tremendous  moment.  I  pray  God  it 
may  have  a  powerful  and  extensive  influence  upon  the 
hearts  of  men,  and  in  the  first  place  upon  my  own,  which 
is  already  humbled,  arid  will,  I  trust,  in  time  be  sufficiently 
humbled  by  it."  "  Such  a  book  at  such  a  time,  and  by 
such  a  man  !"  exclaims  Newton  :  "  I  accept  it  as  a  token  of 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  185 

good,  yea,  as  the  brightest  token  I  can  discern  in  this  dark 
and  perilous  day  !" 

Fifteen  editions  issued  from  the  English  press  ;  twenty- 
five  were  sold  in  this  country,  and  it  holds  a  high  place 
among  the  instrumentalities  that  gave  a  quickened  impulse 
to  that  warm  and  more  earnest  piety,  which  has  dis 
tinguished  the  last  half-century. 

While  Wilberforce  visits  Cowslip  Green  in  person,  to 
take  sweet  counsel  with  Hannah  More,  and  to  join  the  sis 
ters  in  their  walks  of  usefulness,  Newton  remains  by  the 
sheep  of  his  pasture,  enjoying  their  society  and  sympathy, 
as  fancy  sketches  them  in  the  quiet  of  his  study,  or  along 
the  dust  and  din  of  Cheapside.  "  I  am  gone  to  the  Vale 
of  Mendip,"  writes  he,  "  to  Cowslip  Green,  to  the  Root 
House,  where  perhaps  the  ladies  are  just  now  assembled  to 
breakfast.  Oh  !  could  I  actually  see  them,  with  what  glee 
should  I  say,  '  Good  morning,  ladies !' 

"  Well,  I  must  be  content  with  ideal  visits  for  the  present, 
but  not  always :  a  day  is  approaching  when  we  hope  to 
have  a  joyful  meeting  indeed.  I  trust  that  Cowslip  Green 
is  holy  ground,  and  all  the  inhabitants  consecrated  persons ; 
sprinkled,  like  the  priests  of  old,  with  the  atoning  blood, 
anointed  with  the  holy  unction,  and  devoted  with  united 
hearts,  hands,  and  tongues,  to  do  the  will  and  to  proclaim 
16* 


186  HANNAH      MORE. 

the  praise  of  our  God  and  Saviour.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
I  so  long  to  be  with  them. 

"  Indeed,  I  am  with  you  in  spirit,  and  I  think  this  is 
more  than  a  sally  of  the  imagination ;  the  communion  of 
saints,  which  we  profess  to  believe,  like  the  communion  of 
the  members  of  the  body,  is  derived  from  a  communication 
of  life  and  spirits  from  the  same  common  Head,  by  which 
they  have  reciprocal  fellowship  and  fellow-feeling  among 
themselves :  and  though  believers,  the  salt  of  the  earth, 
are  scattered  up  and  down,  far  and  wide,  to  preserve 
the  whole  mass  from  putrefaction,  they  are  one  in  Him. 
The  supreme  object  of  their  love  is  as  yet  unseen.  For  His 
sake  they  love  all  who  love  Him,  though  it  is  but  few  of 
them  comparatively  that  they  can  expect  to  see,  until  He 
shall  collect  them  together  in  the  great  day  of  His  appear 
ance.  The  virtue  of  the  heavenly  magnet,  which  draws 
them  all  to  himself,  connects  them  at  the  same  time  with 
each  other.  Their  aims,  their  hopes,  and  their  spiritual 
sustenance  are  the  same.  Local  distance  neither  discour 
ages  their  mutual  prayers,  nor  prevents  their  efficacy. 

"  The  shadows  of  evening  are  advancing  upon  me.  If 
ever  I  see  Mendip  again,  it  must  be  by  a  bird's-eye  view 
from  the  higher  hill  of  Zion  above.  But  I  trust  I 
shall,  at  intervals,  recollect  with  pleasure,  the  happy 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  187 

week  I  passed  at  Cowslip  Green,  while  I  can  remember 
anything." 

The  New  Year's  day  of  1798  was  solemnized  by  Han 
nah  More,  by  a  renewed  and  more  entire  dedication  of  her 
self  to  the  service  of  her  Heavenly  Master.  "  Let  me  now 
give  myself  away  with  a  more  entire  surrender  than  I  have 
ever  yet  made,"  she  records. 

"  1st.  I  resolve,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  be  more  watchful 
over  my  temper. 

"  2d.  Not  to  speak  rashly  or  harshly. 

"3d.  To  watch  over  my  thoughts, — not  to  indulge  in 
vain,  idle,  resentful,  impatient,  worldly  imaginations. 

"4th.  To  strive  after  closer  communion  with  God. 

"  5th.  To  let  no  hour  pass  without  lifting  up  my  heart 
to  him,  through  Christ. 

"  6th.  Not  to  let  a  day  pass  without  some  thought  of 
death. 

"  7th.  To  ask  myself  every  night,  when  I  lie  down,  am 
I  fit  to  die  ? 

"  8th.  To  labor  to  do  and  to  suffer  the  whole  will  of 
God. 

"  9th.  To  cure  my  over-anxiety,  by  casting  myself  on 
God,  in  Christ. 

"  I  resolve  to  pray  at  least  twice  a  week,  separately,  fur 


188  HANNAH      MORE. 

the  country  in  this  time  of  danger,  independently  of  the 
petitions  offered  up  in  my  other  prayers. 

"  Lord,  grant  that  my  religious  advantages  may  never 
appear  against  me.  Many  temptations  this  week  to  vanity. 
Flattery  without  end.  God  be  praised,  I  was  not  flattered  : 
twenty-four  hours'  headache  makes  me  see  the  vanity  of 
all  this  !  Am  I  tempted  to  vanity  ?  Let  me  recall  to  mind 
the  shining  friends  I  have  lost  this  year, — eminent  each  in 
his  different  way,  yet  he  that  is  least  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  greater  than  either." 

Among  these  shining  friends  was  Horace  Walpole, 
whose  twenty  years  of  unclouded  kindness  and  pleasant 
correspondence,  Miss  More  could  not  give  up  without  a 
sigh. 

As  the  best  evidence  of  the  earnestness  of  her  piety, 
we  find  her  this  year  extending  her  labors,  and  establish 
ing  a  new  school  at  Wedmore,  the  largest  parish  in  the 
county,  and  deplorably  ignorant.  In  the  undertaking,  she 
met  with  unnumbered  trials :  the  farmers  were  very  angry 
with  her  interference,  as  they  called  it,  and  were  more  hos 
tile  than  any  which  the  sisters  had  before  encountered ;  in 
superintending  her  workmen  in  a  damp  and  unfinished 
building,  to  be  used  as  a  school-house,  she  took  a  violent 
cold,  which  threw  her  upon  a  sick  bed  for  several  weeks. 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  189 

Though  harassed  and  opposed,  she  went  bravely  on :  it 
was  enough  for  her  to  know  that  the  work  was  to  be  done, 
and  that  in  Providence  she  seemed  to  have  been  the  ap 
pointed  workman. 

Having  partially  recovered,  Wilberforce  came  down  from 
Bath,  and  carried  her  thither,  to  take  the  benefit  of  the 
waters,  and  to  relieve  her  for  a  short  time  from  the  burden 
of  her  manifold  labors. 

"  I  feel  it  rather  base  to  steal  off  and  leave  poor  Patty  to 
work  double  tides,"  she  wrote  to  Mrs.  •  Kennicott.  "  We 
have  in  hand  a  new  and  very  laborious  undertaking;  but 
the  object  appeared  to  me  so  important  that  I  did  not 
feel  myself  at  liberty  to  neglect  it. 

"  The  opposition  I  have  met  with,  in  endeavoring  to 
establish  an  institution  for  the  religious  instruction  of  these 
people  would  excite  your  astonishment :  in  spite  of  it, 
however,  which  far  exceeds  anything  which  I  have  met 
with,  I  am  building  a  house  and  taking  up  things  on  such 
a  large  scale,  that  you  must  not  be  surprised  if  I  get  into 
debt.  Providence,  I  trust,  will  carry  me  through  the  un 
dertaking  ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  active  malevolence  we 
experience,  I  have  brought  already  three  or  four  hundred 
under  a  course  of  instruction.  The  worst  part  of  the  story 
is,  that  thirty  miles  there  and  back  is  a  little  too  much 


190  HANNAH     MORE. 

these  short  days ;  and  when  we  get  there  our  house  has 
neither  windows  nor  doors :  but  if  we  live  till  next  summer, 
things  will  mend,  and  in  so  precarious  a  world  as  this  is,  a 
winter  was  not  to  be  lost." 

Let  those,  who  now  grumble  over  the  unthankful  task 
of  Sabbath-school  teaching,  and  willingly  abandon  it  on 
the  merest  pretence  or  without  any  excuse  at  all,  look  at 
the  arduous  and  unremitted  labors  of  this  heroic  woman  ; 
here  the  work  is  laid  out  and  you  are  solicited  to  engage 
in  it,  with  all  the  various  helps  and  advantages  which 
Sabbath-school  societies,  papers,  books,  place  within  your 
reach,  and  the  abundant  encouragement,  which  fifty  years' 
experience  of  their  benefits  can  place  before  you. 

How  should  her  example  make  us  blush  for  our  languor 
and  sloth  in  our  Master's  service. 

Besides  these  active  duties  in  well-doing,  her  pen  had 
been  busily  employed  in  preparing  "  Strictures  on  Female 
Education,"  a  work  which  appeared  before  the  public  in 
the  beginning  of  the  following  year,  and  which  abounds 
in  sound  and  discriminating  views. 

It  is  again  curious  to  observe  how  applicable  to  our 
own  age  are  the  admonitions  and  advice  of  fifty  years  ago. 
The  tendencies  then,  as  now,  were  towards  amusement 
rather  than  sobriety,  fashionable  accomplishments  instead 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  191 

of  valuable  knowledge  and  practical  industry,  filial  indepen 
dence  in  place  of  filial  obedience. 

The  practical  evils,  which  lie  in  the  path  of  Christian 
education  from  low  and  imperfect  notions  of  what  should 
be  its  chief  aim,  together  with  a  false  estimate  of  worldly 
advantages,  are  portrayed  with  great  vigor  and  truth. 

Her  pertinent  question  to  the  women  of  her  own  time, 
may  be  asked  with  no  less  significance  to  ours,  "  Does  it 
seem  to  be  the  true  end  of  education  to  make  women, 
dancers,  singers,  players,  painters,  actresses,  sculptors,  gil 
ders,  varnishers,  engravers,  and  embroiderers  ? 

"Most  men  are  commonly  destined  to  some  profession, 
and  their  minds  are  consequently  turned  each  to  its  re 
spective  object.  Would  it  not  be  strange  if  they  were 
called  out  to  exercise  their  profession  or  set  up  their  trade, 
with  only  a  little  general  knowledge  of  the  trades  and 
professions  of  all  other  men,  and  without  any  previous 
definite  application  to  their  own  peculiar  calling?  The 
profession  of  ladies  to  which  the  bent  of  their  instruction 
should  be  turned,  is  that  of  daughters,  wives,  mothers  and 
mistresses  of  families.  They  should  be,  therefore,  trained 
with  a  view  to  these  several  conditions,  and  be  furnished 
with  a  stock  of  ideas  and  principles,  and  qualifications  and 
habits,  ready  to  be  applied  and  appropriated,  as  occasion 


192  HANNAH      MORE. 

may  demand,  to  each  of  these  respective  situations.  For 
though  the  arts  which  merely  embellish  must  claim  ad 
miration,  yet  when  a  man  of  sense  comes  to  marry,  it  is  a 
companion  whom  he  wants,  and  not  an  artist.  It  is  not 
merely  a  creature  who  can  paint,  and  play,  and  sing,  and 
draw,  and  dress,  and  dance ;  it  is  a  being  who  can  comfort 
and  counsel  him  ;  one  who  can  reason  and  reflect,  and  feel 
and  judge,  and  discourse  and  discriminate ;  one  who  can 
assist  him  in  his  affairs,  lighten  his  cares,  strengthen  his 
principles,  and  educate  his  children. 

"  Almost  any  ornamental  acquirement  is  a  good  thing, 
when  it  is  not  the  best  thing  a  woman  has ;  and  talents 
are  admirable,  when  not  made  to  stand  proxy  for  virtues." 

May  not  much  of  the  want  of  success,  the  failures,  the 
bankruptcy,  the  discouragements,  the  complaints  of  men 
in  business,  be  traced  to  a  wrong  domestic  education  ? 
Are  not  "  The  Times,"  out  of  joint  as  they  may  be,  saddled 
with  more  than  justly  belongs  to  them  ?  Have  not  ex 
travagant  habits  somewhat  to  bear  ?  Are  women  sufficient 
ly  trained  for  a  thorough  understanding  of  their  house 
hold  duties  ?  Do  not  fashionable  accomplishments  usurp 
the  place  of  domestic  virtues?  Turn  which  way  we  can, 
gild  and  ornament,  and  reason  and  sentimentalize  as  we 
may,  life  is  life  as  it  ever  has  been,  full  of  practical  evils, 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  193 

unwrought  materials,  and  sore  trials,  which  require  an 
earnest  purpose,  a  patient,  courageous  heart,  and  skilful 
hands  to  meet  them,  to  subdue  them  and  to  convert  them 
into  present  benefit  or  future  good. 

Miss  More's  happy  criticism  upon  the  word  "  pleasant," 
it  may  not  be  amiss  to  introduce,  for  the  benefit  of  many 
still  among  us,  who  are  too  apt  to  undervalue  the  greatest 
excellences  of  character,  if  their  title  to  this  quality  be  found 
wanting. 

"  There  was  a  time  when  a  variety  of  epithets  were 
thought  necessary  to  express  various  kinds  of  excellence, 
and  when  the  different  qualities  of  the  mind  were  dis 
tinguished  by  appropriate  and  discriminating  terms :  when 
the  words,  venerable,  learned,  sagacious,  profound,  acute, 
pious,  worthy,  ingenious,  valuable,  elegant,  agreeable,  wise, 
or  witty,  were  used  as  specific  marks  of  distinct  characters. 
But  the  legislators  of  fashion  have  of  late  years  thought 
proper  to  comprise  all  merit  in  one  established  epithet ; 
an  epithet  which,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  a  very  desirable 
one  as  far  as  it  goes.  This  term  is  exclusively  and  in 
discriminately  applied  wherever  commendation  is  intended. 
The  word  pleasant  now  seems  to  combine  and  express  all 
moral  and  intellectual  excellence.  Every  individual,  from 
the  gravest  professors  of  the  gravest  profession,  down  to 
17 


194  HANNAH     MORE. 

the  trifler  who  is  of  no  profession  at  all,  must  earn  the 
epithet  of  pleasant  or  must  be  contented  to  be  nothing ; 
and  must  be  consigned  over  to  ridicule  under  the  vulgar 
and  inexpressive  cant  word  of  bore.  This  is  the  mortifying 
designation  of  many  a  respectable  man,  who,  though  of 
much  worth  and  ability,  cannot  perhaps  clearly  make  out 
his  letters  patent  to  the  title  of  pleasant.  For  according 
to  this  modern  classification  there  is  no  intermediate  state, 
but  all  are  comprised  within  the  ample  bounds  of  one  or 
other  of  these  two  comprehensive  terms." 

Her  chapter  upon  Children's  Balls,  which,  she  declares, 
are  a  triple  conspiracy  against  the  innocence,  health,  and 
happiness  of  children,  would  be  likely  to  give  almost  as 
much  offence  now  as  it  did  then.  The  remark  of  a  Chris 
tian  mother  in  one  of  our  cities,  "that  the  increasing 
prevalence  of  evening  dancing  parties,  and  late  hours  for 
young  children,  she  could  not  consider  but  a  serious  evil, 
yet  she  felt  she  should  be  obliged  to  yield  to  the  fashion, 
and  suffer  her  girls  to  attend,"  revealed  a  sad  defection  in 
parental  training,  which  it  is  to  be  feared  is  gaining  ground 
in  the  religious  community. 

Are  not  pious  parents  too  much  disposed  to  yield  to 
fashionable  requirement  at  the  expense  of  their  religious 
principles  and  Christian  profession  ?  Have  we  habitually 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  195 

and  seriously  in  view  the  chief  end,  the  main  object, 
for  which  we  profess  to  educate  our  childen  ?  alas,  we  fear 
not. 

Our  children  are  to  be  educated  as  immortals  as  well 
as  mortals,  for  the  service  of  God  as  well  as  citizens  of  the 
world  ;  while  we  regard  their  temporal  good  with  deep  in 
terest,  their  eternal  welfare  must  still  occupy  the  largest 
share  of  our  anxieties  and  efforts.  Under  the  burden  of  joy, 
and  of  new  responsibility  at  their  birth,  we  hasten  to  pre 
sent  them  before  the  Lord,  and  enter  into  covenant  with 
Him  for  His  grace  to  aid  us  in  training  them  for  his  ser 
vice  ;  their  spiritual  entrance  into  his  kingdom,  with  the 
consequent  fruits  of  a  holy  life,  is  the  one  great  thing  aimed 
at  and  agonized  for  by  parental  love.  To  effect  this,  a  ju 
dicious  religious  education  must  be  our  chief  concern.  To 
guard  the  appetites  and  chasten  the  passions ;  to  make  the 
conscience  tender  and  the  spirit  teachable;  to  impart  cor 
rect  tastes,  to  enable  the  young  mind  to  form  right  judg 
ments  and  firmly  to  act  up  to  them  ;  rightly  to  instruct  in 
the  knowledge  of  God,  and  to  take  advantage  of  opportu 
nities,  when  the  ear  is  open,  and  the  feelings  are  tender,  to 
bring  the  young  heart  to  its  Saviour, — what  a  work  is  this, 
and  what  obstacles  to  oppose  it !  How  soon  we  perceive 
that  the  bias  is  everywhere  downward  :  in  the  little  bosom 


196  HANNAH     MORE. 

is  the  growth  of  evil  passions,  and  tfye  walls  of  the  nursery 
cannot  keep  out  the  contagion  of  evil  influence,  fitted  to 
cherish  them :  there  are  foes  all  about  the  heavenward 
path  of  the  little  pilgrim,  and  shall  the  parent  become  its 
enemy  ?  Will  you  impart  to  your  children  tastes  which 
must  oppose  an  obstacle  to  a  taste  for  religious  duties  and 
enjoyments  ?  Will  you  deliberately  train  them  to  amuse 
ments  which  they  must  renounce  to  lead  a  'life  of  piety  ? 
You  may,  at  first,  see  no  harm  lurking  in  the  graceful 
snares  and  joyful  excitement  of  the  first  dance,  but  cannot 
you  look  still  farther  and  see  that  you  are  thrusting  the 
child  of  your  love  beyond  the  prayers  of  the  church,  and 
estranging  it  farther  and  farther  from  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  ?  And  you  do  this  by  teaching  it  to  love  that 
amusement  which  most  exposes  it  to  frivolity  and  the 
spirit  of  a  tempting  and  giddy  world ;  an  amusement 
which  banishes  habitual  thoughtful  ness,  and  produces  a  dis 
relish  for  the  pure  and  peaceable  exercises  of  a  devout  and 
humble  life.  Oh  !  Christian  parents,  think  of  these  things. 
The  "  Strictures"  were  greatly  commended  ;  letters  of 
thanks,  congratulation,  encouragement,  and  praise  poured 
in  upon  the  author,  from  the  old  circle,  Mrs.  Boscawen, 
Mrs.  Montagu,  Mrs.  Chapone,  Miss  Carter,  Mrs.  Barbauld, 
and  from  many  others  Jess  familiar  to  these  pages. 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  197 

The  sisters,  Hannah  and  Patty,  now  went  up  to  London 
for  the  benefit  of  a  change,  to  both  mind  and  body.  Mrs. 
Boscawen  was  extremely  feeble  at  this  time  ; — "  God  bless 
you,  my  dear  madam,"  said  Hannah,  on  coming  away, 
fearing  it  might  be  the  last  meeting. 

"  That  is  well,"  said  the  venerable  lady,  taking  her  by 
the  hand,  and  looking  steadfastly  into  her  face,  "  that  is 
well,  but  you  jnust  do  more,  you  must  pray  for  me, — I  am 
going  gently  off'." 

Miss  Carter,  now  at  eighty-three,  was  in  the  enjoyment 
of  better  health  and  spirits  than  usually  fall  to  the  lot  of  so 
advanced  age,  and  the  conversation  of  the  friends,  if  not  as 
sparkling  and  witty,  savored  of  Christian  hopes  and  holy 

j°ys- 

Meanwhile  troubles  were  brewing  in  one  of  the  parishes 
where  a  school  had  been  established,  which,  at  the  time, 
proved  extremely  vexatious  and  distressing  to  Miss  More 
and  her  family ;  viewed  through  the  lapse  of  years,  it 
seems  strange  that  charges  so  utterly  inconsistent  with 
reason  and  fact  could  have  been  made  against  her,  and  that 
the  affair  could  ever  have  assumed  the  dignity  of  a  "  con 
troversy." 

A  school  had  been  established  in  the  profligate  parish 
of  Blagdon,  near  Cowslip  Green,  at  the  earnest  and  re- 
17* 


198  HANNAH      MOKE. 

peated  request  of  both  curate  and  magistrate,  for  Miss 
More,  on  their  first  application,  felt  that  she  had  neither 
strength  nor  means  sufficient  for  any  new  undertaking : 
having  consented,  she  paid  particular  attention  to  its  wel 
fare,  and  in  a  few  years  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  disorders,  warrants,  and  indictments  had  almost  en 
tirely  disappeared  before  the  benign  and  beneficial  influence 
of  her  Sunday  instruction.  For  five  years  affairs  went 
smoothly  on,  when  one  of  her  schoolmasters,  named 
Young,  was  charged,  by  the  curate,  Mr.  Bere,  with  intro 
ducing  Methodism  into  his  school,  which,  so  far  as  we  can 
learn,  consisted  in  encouraging  extemporaneous  prayer,  and 
speaking  upon  religious  experience  in  a  little  meeting  of  a 
dozen  poor  neighbors  for  religious  conversation  :  for  this 
irregularity,  as  it  was  regarded,  Miss  More,  who  was  then 
sick  at  Bath,  gave  him  a  timely  reprimand,  and  the  school 
went  quietly  on.  Whether  owing  to  some  private  pique 
or  personal  dislike,  the  curate  was  not  to  be  so  easily  satis 
fied  :  he  began  to  preach  against  the  schools,  and  brought 
up  a  new  accusation  against  the  schoolmaster,  to  the  effect, 
that  he  had  prevented  a  young  man  from  entering  his  ser 
vice  by  defaming  his  character.  The  matter  was  referred 
to  the  rector,  Dr.  Grossman,  and  afterwards  to  a  local  tri 
bunal,  the  result  of  which  was  the  dismissal  of  the  school- 


TRIALS     AMI)     OPPOSITION.  199 

master,  and  the  breaking  up  of  the  school.  Miss  More  ac 
quiesced  for  peace  sake,  though  she  could  not  approve  what 
her  judgment  did  not  sanction.  Young  had  been  in  her 
service  for  ten  years,  and  his  exemplary  conduct  and  faith 
ful  discharge  of  duty  had  won  her  confidence,  not  to  be 
shaken  by  a  single  instance  of  irregular  proceeding  (for  it 
is  to  be  supposed,  he  never  asked  the  poor  neighbors  to 
make  another  prayer),  or  any  general  charges,  which  could 
not  be  fully  sustained :  she  recommended  him  to  the  pa 
trons  of  a  large  charitable  institution  near  Dublin,  who,  not 
long  afterwards,  appointed  him  superintendent,  the  duties 
of  which  he  fulfilled  with  credit  to  himself,  and  to  the  sat 
isfaction  of  his  employers. 

Disbanding  the  school  cost  her  many  struggles,  for  she 
loved  it  with  a  mother's  tenderness.  "  It  is  with  no  small 
concern  I  have  to  inform  you  that  we  shall  meet  no  more 
in  this  place,"  she  said  in  her  parting  address  to  the  little 
flock  who  sat  around  her,  with  anxious  looks  and  tearful 
eyes.  "  The  Sunday-school,  and  the  evening  reading,  the 
weekly  school  of  industry,  are  all  at  an  end.  Before  we 
part,  it  is  but  justice  to  you  to  declare  that  my  sister  and  I 
have  never  had  more  comfort  from  the  teachable  and  duti 
ful  behavior  of  any  children,  nor  more  satisfaction  from  the 
sober  and  decent  conduct  of  any  parents,  than  we  have  ex- 


200  HANNAH      MOKE. 

perienced  in  this  place.  You  will  give  the  best  evidence  that 
you  have  profited  by  our  instructions,  and  those  of  your 
master,  by  carrying  the  religion  you  have  been  taught  on 
Sunday  into  the  business  of  the  week,  and  the  behavior  of 
your  daily  life.  I  shall  hold  that  person's  religious  profession 
very  cheap  indeed,  who  is  not  hereafter  sober,  peaceable, 
industrious,  and  forgiving.  Be  diligent  in  your  attendance 
at  church  twice  a  day.  Show  that  you  fear  God,  by  keep 
ing  his  commandments  and  reverencing  his  ministers : 
show  that  you  '  know  the  King,'  by  submitting  to  all  that 
are  in  authority  under  him,  especially  to  magistrates.  Mr. 
Young 'has  proved  himself,  during  eight  years'  service,  an 
honest  and  upright  man,  and  an  able  and  faithful  school 
master.  You  are  greatly  indebted  to  him,  and  can  reward 
him  in  no  other  way  but  by  living  in  such  a  manner  as 
shall  be  a  credit  to  his  instructions.  He  will  continue  in 
this  place,  of  which  he  is  a  parishioner,  till  he  can  set 
tle  himself  elsewhere  ;  but  I  earnestly  request  that,  though 
you  treat  him  as  a  kind  friend  and  neighbor,  you  do  not, 
either  by  many  or  by  few,  resort  to  him  for  instruction. 

"  Young  men  !  let  me  exhort  you  to  be  sober-minded  : 
avoid  the  snares  and  corruptions  of  the  world,  against 
which  you  have  been  so  long  guarded,  and  to  which,  at 
your  season  of  life,  you  will  be  so  much  exposed.  My 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  201 

young  women  !  so  long  the  objects  of  our  tender  care  and 
concern  !  I  commit  you  to  the  protection  of  God.  He  can, 
and  I  trust  He  will,  raise  up  better  friends  than  we  have 
been  to  you.  In  any  case  He  will  Himself  be  your  friend 
if  you  walk  in  the  paths  in  which  you  have  been  trained. 
He  will  never  leave  you  nor  forsake  you.  As  those  hours 
on  Sunday  evenings  which  you  have  been  accustomed  to 
pass  in  this  house  are  the  seasons  of  the  greatest  dangers 
to  your  youth  and  ignorance,  watch  well,  I  beseech  you, 
over  yourselves.  You  are  now  furnished  with  Bibles; 
you  have  been  taught  to  read  and  understand  them ;  so 
that,  if  you  now  fall  into  sin,  you  will  no  longer  have  the 
former  excuse  of  ignorance  to  plead.  We  have  this  day 
repeated  our  annual  gift  of  forty  Bibles  and  Common 
Prayer-books,  the  usual  number  of  Bishop  Gartrell's  'In 
stitutes,'  Bishop  Beveridge's  'Private  Thoughts,'  Dod- 
dridge's  '  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion,'  for  the  elder, 
with  some  hundreds  of  Cheap  Repository  and  other  small 
tracts,  for  younger  ones.  To  the  use  of  these  you  must 
add  prayer  to  God  for  His  grace  and  direction.  Though 
what  little  we  have  done  here  is  mixed  with  much  imper 
fection,  yet  I  trust  the  general  design  and  tendency  of  it 
has  been  right. 

"  We  shall  never  think  of  the  five  years  that  are  past 


202  HANNAH      MORE. 

without  being  thankful  for  what  has  been  done,  and  with 
out  wishing  we  had  done  more  and  better.  To  the  prin 
cipal  formers  and  heads  of  the  parish  we  are  obliged  for 
their  approbation  and  countenance  of  the  school,  and 
their  kindness  to  the  master  and  mistress.  Being  willing 
to  leave  a  last  testimony  of  our  regard  to  the  poor,  we 
have  deposited  in  the  hands  of  your  respectable  church 
warden,  five  guineas,  to  be  applied  to  a  general  subscrip 
tion,  in  case  the  scarcity  should  make  such  a  measure 
necessary,  or  otherwise  to  be  disposed  of  at  his  direction 
and  that  of  the  vestry." 

What  a  tender  concern,  what  a  generous  interest  is 
displayed  in  this  brief  farewell :  no  censure  or  blame  issues 
from  her  lips,  nothing  that  can  encourage  discord  or  rankle 
in  the  heart ;  it  was  a  gospel  of  peace  and  good-will  to 
the  little  community. 

The  Rector  having  afterwards  learned  that,  the  breaches 
of  discipline  of  which  the  schoolmaster  had  been  accused 
had  never  been  repeated  after  Miss  More's  reprimand,  no 
other  charges  having  been  preferred  against  him,  Dr.  Cross- 
man,  by  the  advice  of  the  Bishop,  dismissed  Mr.  Bere 
from  the  curacy,  and  requested  Miss  More  to  re-open  the 
schools :  this  request  was  warmly  seconded  by  her  own 
affectionate  interest  in  the  little  Blagdon  flock,  and  accord- 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  203 

ingly  she  re-assembled  them  around  her  on  the  25th  of 
January,  1801. 

Neither  was  the  curate  so  easily  to  be  got  rid  of? 
having  committed  no  ecclesiastical  or  moral  offence,  he 
could  not  be  deprived  of  his  office,  and  there  he  remained 
at  Blagdon,  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  all  Miss  More's  en 
deavors  :  to  disarm  his  hostility,  in  August,  she  again 
closed  the  schools,  never  to  re-open.  The  British  Critic 
and  Anti-Jacobin  Review,  lent  their  pages  to  this  con 
troversy,  which  continued  to  be  carried  on  with  the  utmost 
bitterness  and  personal  abuse.  Miss  More's  labors,  charac 
ter,  and  religious  views  were  violently  assailed;  she  was 
accused  of  Jacobinism,  disloyalty,  Methodism,  nay,  of 
French  infidelity,  and  farther  still,  one  of  her  enemies  pub- 
jicly  declared  she  had  hired  two  men  to  shoot  him,  and 
that  she  had  been  concerned  with  Charlotte  Corday  in  the 
assassination  of  Marat.  A  bill  was  posted  up  on  the 
Blagdon  turnpike,  showing  the  lengths  to  which  men  may 
be  carried  by  the  angry  heats  of  party,  even  to  the  utter 
disregard  of  all  that  is  honorable  or  decent : — 

"  Just  imported  from  Barbary  by  Baron  Munckhausen 
a  large  collection  of  strange  beasts,  which  the  Baron  has 
had  the  honor  of  exhibiting  before  the  Bishop  of  London 
and  his  party  with  great  applause,  and  may  be  seen  at  any 


204  H  A  N  N  A  11      M  O  11  E. 

time  of  the  day  in  a  new-built  Caravan  at  the  sign  of  the 
Green  Cowslip,  in  the  parish  of  Wrington,  at  thirteen  and  a 
half  pence  each.  The  collection  consists  of  five  female  sava 
ges  (the  Misses  More)  of  the  most  desperate  kind,  one  black 
bear  (Mr.  Bere)  which  they  wounded  with  a  poisoned  dart 
while  he  was  guarding  his  young  ones." 

Sharp  and  severe  were  these  trials  to  the  sisters,  es 
pecially  to  Hannah  and  Patty,  whose  labors  were  already 
crippled,  and  whose  usefulness  in  the  other  parishes  might 
be  seriously  injured  in  future  by  the  unscrupulous  charges 
and  bitter  satires  of  their  adversaries. 

Grieved  and  wounded  to  the  quick,  Hannah  writes  to 
Wilberforce :  "  In  Blagdon  is  '  still  a  voice  heard,  lamenta 
tion  and  mourning,' and  at  Cowslip  'Kachel  is  still  weep 
ing  for  her  children,  and  refused  to  be  comforted  because 
they  are  not'  instructed.  This  heavy  blow  has  almost 
bowed  me  to  the  ground.  It  was  only  last  night  I  began 
to  get  a  little  sleep.  My  reason  and  my  religion  know 
that  it  is  permitted  by  that  gracious  Being,  who  uses 
sometimes  bad  men  for  his  instruments ;  but  reason  and 
religion  do  not  operate  much  upon  the  nerves.  I  doubt 
not  but  that  He  who  can  bring  much  real  good  out  of 
much  seeming  evil,  will  eventually  turn  this  shocking 
business  to  his  glory.  Though  I  knew  that  Bere  and  his 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  205 

adherents  had  spread  abroad  the  most  flagitious  reports 
respecting  my  political  and  religious  principles,  yet  I  own 
I  was  inexpressibly  shocked  the  other  night  at  Patty's 
receiving  from  the  Bishop  of  London,  a  most  ambiguous 
and  alarming  note,  expressing  the  utmost  terror  on  my 
account,  yet  refusing  to  explain  himself;  saying  if  what 
was  reported  were  true,  she  would  understand  what  he 
meant.  All  we  can  collect  from  this  obscure  giving  out, 
what  out  of  tenderness  he  seems  to  have  half  concealed,  is, 

that  this  mock  trial  has  been  fabricated  by  B 's  emissaries 

into  an  official  one,  and  that  I  am  found  guilty  of  sedition, 
and,  perhaps,  taken  up  and  sent  to  prison.  Remember 
this  is  mere  surmise.  Have  you  had  any  communication 
with  the  Bishop  of  London,  or  have  these  strange  reports 
reached  you  ? 

"  I  mean  to  re-read  for  the  fiftieth  time,  your  chapter  on 
the  overvaluing  of  human  estimation.  I  have  perhaps 
been  too  anxious  on  that  head.  Yet  few  people  have  cared 
less  about  general  opinion,  except  as  it  has  attacked  me  in 
that  vital  vulnerable  part,  on  which  one's  usefulness  de 
pends. 

"  I  have  had  a  return  of  my  complaint,  and  am  still  very 
poorly.  Patty  behaves  nobly,  and  only  works  the  harder 
for  all  these  attacks ;  she  has  been,  in  all  this  weather,  on 
18 


206  HANNAH     M  O  It  E. 

a  three  days'  mission  to  Wedmore,  where  things  look  very 
smiling :  our  persecutors  have  become  our  admirers,  now 
they  say  they  have  seen  our  goings  on,  and  that  we  are 
not  methody  people ;  and  that  rich  farmer  who  presented 
us  at  the  visitation  for  teaching  French  principles,  sends 
his  own  family  to  the  school  and  the  reading,  both  of 

which  are  very  full ;  but  I  greatly  dread  B 's  success  at 

Blagdon  will  induce  a  second  visit  to  Wedmore,  where  he 
first  stirred  up  the  opposition.  My  wounds  are  still  fresh 
and  raw,  and  want  much  wine  and  oil — this  your  kind 
letters  never  fail  to  administer,  but  I  hope  I  strive  to 
look  for  higher  and  better  consolations ;  and  that  these 
may  be  granted  me,  I  am  persuaded  I  have  your  prayers." 
Again  she  writes,  "  Mr.  Whalley  has  done  himself  great 
honor  by  writing  a  strong  and  very  spirited  state  of  the 
case  to  the  Bishop,  expressing  his  strong  conviction  of  the 
moral  benefit  to  the  country  from  all  my  schools,  his  firm 
belief  in  the  integrity  of  the  Blagdon  master,  and  describ 
ing  at  large  his  having  witnessed,  together  with  Dr.  Mac~ 
lame,  Mrs.  Holroyd,  and  many  other  equally  respectable 
testimonies,  the  conduct  of  the  school  for  a  whole  Sunday, 
the  practical  and  useful  mode  of  instruction  given  them, 
and  the  regularity  and  good  order  of  the  parish.  I  own  I 
did  think  his  testimony  would  have  been  of  use.  But  it 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  207 

was  very  coolly  received.  The  man  had  prayed  extem 
pore — lie  might  be  a  Calvinist :  the  church  was  in  danger. 
My  dear  friend,  I  have  prayed  and  struggled  earnestly  not 
to  be  quite  subdued  in  my  mind — but  I  cannot  command 
my  nerves,  and  though  pretty  well  during  the  bustle  of 
the  day,  yet  I  get  such  disturbed  and  agitated  nights,  that 
I  could  not  answer  for  my  lasting  if  the  thing  were  to  go 
on  much  longer ;  this  is  such  a  specimen  of  the  state  of 
religion,  that  7,  too,  really  think  the  church  is  in  danger, 
though  in  another  and  far  more  awful  sense." 

For  three  years  the  persecution  continued  with  unabated 
violence,  to  which  was  added  a  distressing  illness,  which 
confined  her  to  the  house  for  seven  months  ;  but  Hannah 
More  had  consolations,  which  the  world  could  neither  give, 
nor  take  away  ;  she  leaned  upon  an  almighty  arm. 

"The  calumnies  are  of  too  dreadful  a  nature  to  be 
borne,"  she  exclaimed,  "  except  from  a  full  conviction  that 
it  is  the  will  of  God,  who  is  pleased  thus  to  exercise  me  for 
my  purification.  Who  knows  but  in  the  final  issue  of 
things,  I  may  have  reason  to  think  these  bad  men  are  my 
best  friends,  having  never  before  tasted  anything  but 
dangerous  prosperity  or  unmerited  praise." 

Hitherto  we  have  only  seen  Hannah  More  borne  on 
favoring  gales ;  her  London  acquaintance  rejoiced  in  her 


208  HANNAH     MORE. 

society  and  celebrity ;  fame  and  friends  followed  her  to 
Cowslip  Green ;  her  home  missionary  labors,  difficult  and 
arduous  as  they  had  been,  were  crowned  with  success ;  her 
works  ranked  her  among  the  revered  and  honored  of  Eng 
land  ;  prosperity,  we  know,  is  neither  favorable  to  piety  nor 
self-knowledge;  but  the  hour  of  trial  came,  from  those 
whose  teeth  were  spears  and  arrows,  and  whose  tongue  a 
sharp  sword.  She  bows  to  the  chastening,  and  with  the 
eye  of  faith,  sees  mercy  in  the  rod. 

"  If  it  please  God  thus  to  put  an  end  to  my  little  (how 
little  !)  usefulness,  I  hope  to  be  enabled  to  submit  to  his 
will,  not  only  to  submit  to  it,  because  I  cannot  help  it,  but 
to  acquiesce  in  it,  because  it  is  holy,  just  and  good." 

Here  is  the  childlike  submission  of  a  true  servant  of 
God.  Though  her  reputation,  her  character,  her  labors 
were  seemingly  at  stake,  no  words  of  anger,  of  recrimina 
tion,  or  of  sinful  repining,  issue  from  her  lips.  Conscious 
of  her  innocence  as  far  as  regards  her  fellow-men,  she 
offers  neither  defence  nor  exculpation :  her  chief  desire  is 
spiritual  improvement ;  an  increased  purity  of  heart  and  a 
more  humble  reliance  upon  the  Lord  her  strength.  When 
Dr.  Beadon  succeeded  Dr.  Moss  to  the  see  of  Bath  and 
Wells,  she  deemed  it  a  duty  to  lay  before  him  a  plain 
statement  of  the  matter,  lest  he  might  be  led  to  disapprove 


TRIALS     AND     OPPOSITION.  209 

of  her  schools,  in  which  case,  she  must  defer  to  his  opinions 
and  relinquish  them  altogether. 

Her  letter  is  plain,  straightforward,  and  full  of  that 
candor  and  directness  which  so  eminently  characterized  her 
writing. 

" '  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  revile  and  persecute  you  and 
say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely]  and  for  '  my 
name's  sake.'  When  I  consider  whose  words  are  these," 
wrote  Newton  to  his  afflicted  friend,  "  I  am  more  disposed 
to  congratulate  than  to  condole  with  you,  on  the  unjust 
and  hard  treatment  that  you  have  met  with. 

"  Yet  I  do  feel  for  you.  These  things  are  not  joyous  but. 
grievous  at  the  time  ;  it  is  afterwards  that  they  yield 
the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness.  Cheer  up,  my  friend, 
tarry  thou  the  Lord's  leisure.  Be  strong,  and  he  shall 
comfort  thy  heart." 

Among  the  heavy  and  conflicting  charges  laid  against 
Miss  More  in  this  controversy,  were  those  of  teaching 
Calvinism,  sympathizing  with  the  Methodists,  and  encourag 
ing  Dissenters.  Though  firmly  attached  to  her  church 
and  to  her  state,  and  to  church  and  state,  Miss  More  was 
less  a  church  woman  than  a  Christian. 

"  Bible  Christianity  is  what  I  love,"  said  she,  "  that  does 
18* 


210  HANNAH     MORE. 

not  insist  upon  opinions  indifferent  in  themselves — a  Chris 
tianity  practical  and  pure,  which  teaches  holiness,  humility, 
repentance,  and  faith  in  Christ :  and  which,  after  summing- 
up  all  the  evangelical  graces,  declares  that  the  greatest  of 
these  is  charity." 

No  better  description  than  this  could  be  given  of  her 
religious  character :  it  grew  out  of  large,  intelligent,  experi 
mental  views  of  Bible  Christianity.  No  other  Christianity 
but  that  which  is  drawn  directly  from  the  pure  Word 
of  God  can  give  equal  symmetry  and  comprehensiveness ; 
that  can  blend  in  such  just  proportion,  the  deepest  self- 
abasement  and  the  most  trusting  faith,  with  the  greatest 
amount  of  usefulness  and  good  works. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


VISITORS  without  number  flocked  to  Cowslip  Green, 
until  Cowslip  Green  was  quite  too  straitened  for  the 
fame  and  hospitality  of  its  mistress.  She  now  projected  a 
new  house,  more  ample  and  commodious,  upon  a  swell  of 
land  half  a  mile  from  Wrington,  commanding  a  wider 
sweep  of  hill  and  valley,  of  hamlet  and  green  ;  the  pecu 
liar  beauty  of  the  situation  led  one  of  her  friends  to  call  it, 
"  the  gift  of  an  all-wise  Providence,  to  soothe  her  after  all 
her  troubles." 

In  the  planning  and  planting  of  her  grounds,  Miss 
More  hoped  to  regain  that  tranquillity  of  mind,  and 
strength  of  body,  which  the  rude  and  unprovoked  assaults 
of  her  enemies  had  seriously  impaired. 

Barley  Wood  became  her  residence  in  1801. 

Hitherto  the  sisters  had  divided  their  time  between  Bath 
and  Wrington  :  they  now  determined  to  give  up  the  care 


212  HANNAH     MORE. 

and  expense  of  a  divided  dwelling  and  a  bustling  town, 
and  spend  the  remainder  of  their  days  at  Barley  Wood. 

"  Lord,  grant  that  this  prove  a  blessing  to  us  all  and 
draw  us  nearer  to  Him,"  exclaims  Hannah  ;  "  make  us 
thankful  that  our  lot  has  fallen  in  so  pleasant  a  place,  that 
we  have  a  goodly  heritage,  but  let  us  not  take  up  with  so 
poor  a  portion  as  this  life,  or  anything  in  it." 

Barcley  Wood  became  a  centre  of  no  common  interest. 
If  the  eye  delighted  to  linger  on  the  distant  landscape,  the 
garden  soon  offered  scarcely  inferior  charms  ;  fruits  and 
blossoms  dwelt  in  social  sweetness, 

"  Along  its  blushing  borders,  bright  with  dew, 
And  in  yon  mingled  wilderness  of  flowers, 
Fair-handed  Spring  unbosoms  every  grace." 

Bright  carnations,  gay,  spotted  pinks,  the  daisy,  primrose, 
violet,  break 

"  On  the  charmed  eye,  and  the  delighted  florist  marks, 
With  secret  pride,  the  wonders  of  her  hand." 

Nor  within  is  there  a  less  pleasing  diversity.  Each  sister 
has  her  assigned  place  in  the  household.  There  sits  Miss 
Mary,  already  past  sixty,  plain  in  her  manners,  and  pointed 


BARLEY     WOOD.  213 

in  her  speech ;  who  allows  herself  no  indulgences,  or  suf 
fers  no  impropriety  to  pass  without  rebuke.  Miss  Mary 
More  we  venture  to  say,  is  no  favorite  with  pretenders  of 
any  sort :  she  has  a  key  to  unlock  their  characters,  which 
no  one  likes  the  using.  Here  is  the  wife  of  Barley  Wood, 
as  some  call  her,  Miss  Elizabeth,  so  gentle,  so  loving,  full 
of  the  milk  of  human  kindness ;  her  presence,  like  a  good 
angel,  is  everywhere  felt,  regulating,  smoothing,  harmoniz 
ing,  and  her  work-basket,  like  Dorcas',  is  fitted  with  coats 
and  garments  for  the  poor. 

Sally  More  is  bright  and  intellectual,  like  Hannah. 
Prosy  More  she  was  called  by  intimates,  not,  however,  for 
her  dulness,  but  in  distinction  from  Hannah,  who  was 
named  Poetry.  Sarah  wrote  two  novels  in  her  early  days, 
and  her  original  sayings  were  without  number;  indeed, 
they  declared  she  was  a  living  contradiction  of  Solomon's 
position,  there  was  nothing  new  under  the  sun. 

Many  of  the  tracts  of  the  Cheap  Repository  issued  from 
her  pen,  and  were  read  with  lively  interest.  The  star  of 
the  sphere  is  Hannah  :  she  is  world-known  now,  and  every 
body  comes  to  see  her,  some  from  curiosity,  some  for  ad 
vice,  some  for  friendship,  some  to  be  famous ;  some  to  ad 
mire,  some  to  envy.  She  is  affable  and  accessible  to  all ; 
there  are  lines  of  suffering  upon  her  face,  yet  it  is  beaming 


214  HANNAH      MORE. 

with  benevolence  ;  the  pressure  of  sickness  is  often  heavy, 
but  her  elastic  spirit  seldom  yields  :  she  thinks,  and  plans, 
and  works,  and  reads,  even  on  the  sick  bed. 

Barley  Wood  was  stored  with  comforts;  these  could 
lighten  and  alleviate,  but  they  could  not  ward  off  the  in 
firmities  of  life.  On  her  first  entrance  to  her  new  home, 
she  was  confined  to  her  chamber,  and,  "  This  puts  me  in 
mind,"  she  says,  "  of  the  old  remark,  that  the  first  spot  of 
earth  of  which  Abraham  took  possession,  in  the  land  of 
Promise,  was  a  grave  !" 

Among  the  children  of  England,  who  were  sporting  in 
her  stately  halls,  or  starving  at  her  cottage  doors,  one  little 
girl  there  was,  on  whose  fair  head  rested  a  nation's  hopes, 
and  around  whose  bud  of  being  clustered  the  manifold  in 
terests  of  a  mighty  empire.  She  found  her  way  to  the 
heart  of  every  English  mother,  and  was  remembered  at 
every  household  altar ;  wise  men  talked  of  her,  and  good 
men  prayed  for  her.  Among  the  royal  household  there 
was  none  dearer  than  she,  for  to  the  winsomeness  of  child 
hood  were  added  the  snares  and  prerogatives  of  a  princely 
birth. 

To  the  loyal  heart  of  Hannah  More  the  education  of 
the  Princess  Charlotte  could  hardly  fail  to  become  a  most 
important  subject.  Nor  is  it  surprising  that  the  gifted 
teacher  in  hall  and  cottage  should  have  been  solicited  to 


BARLEY     WOOD.  215 

furnish  from  the  rich  stores  of  her  experience,  principles 
and  suggestions  that  might  afford  valuable  helps  to  those 
who  had  the  charge  of  it. 

With  these  views  she  wrote  "  Hints  towards  forming  the 
Character  of  a  Young  Princess,"  dedicated  to  Dr.  Fisher, 
Bishop  of  Exeter,  who  had  just  been  appointed  Preceptor 
to  the  royal  pupil.  Copies  were  presented  to  the  king  and 
queen,  the  prince  and  princess,  who  all  alike  bore  testimony 
to  its  excellence.  Sir  Alexander  Johnson  sent  it  to  the 

Rajah  of to  be  translated  into  the  Mahratta  language, 

for  the  use  of  his  favorite  daughter.  Not  having  the 
speedy  introduction  to  this  country  as  her  other  works  had 
done,  she  understood  it  was  excluded  by  our  republican 
principles ;  when  informed  that  it  was  actually  in  circula 
tion,  she  was  much  gratified,  exclaiming,  "  I  have  con 
quered  America."  Richard  Rush,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia, 
wrote  her  that  he  saw  in  it  full  as  much  of  what  is  elevated, 
and  more  of  what  is  practically  useful  than  Telemachus, 
and  that  he  had  intended  his  son  should  read  Telemachus 
through  every  year  from  sixteen  to  twenty.  The  Hints 
would  form  a  very  good  companion  to  accompany  it. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1804,  among  the  particular 
mercies  which  crowned  her  days,  she  enumerated,  "  Con 
siderable  restoration  of  my  health  and  spirits,  personal  and 


216  HANNAH      MORE. 

family  comforts  continued,  family  misfortunes  averted,  op 
portunities  of  doing*  some  good,  our  schools  continued, 
kindness  of  friends,  ability  to  enjoy  my  sweet  place,  escape 
from  the  turbulent  life  of  Bath,  increased  opportunities  of 
reading  and  retirement,  for  which  she  desires  to  have  an 
abiding  and  lively  gratitude — though  for  all  earthly  bless 
ings  we  should  pray  only  with  entire  submission  to  the  Di 
vine  will ;  while  in  praying  for  spiritual  blessings,  no  re 
serve,  no  caution,  no  limit  is  necessary. 

"  Lord,  pour  out  the  grace  of  thy  Holy  Spirit  on  me  and 
mine  without  measure  ;  teach  us  to  love  Thee  with  all  our 
hearts,  minds,  souls,  and  strength,  and  to  devote  the  re 
mainder  of  our  lives  to  thy  service,  and  to  the  glory  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ." 

This  month  closed  her  correspondence  with  Mrs.  Bos- 
cawen,  one  among  the  first  and  most  devoted  of  the 
circle  of  London  friends. 

"  Yes,  my  very  excellent  and  dear  friend,"  ran  her  last 
letter,  "  I  must  send  one  word  sooner  or  later,  in  return  for 
the  kindest  of  letters,  which  was  a  cordial  to  me ;  that  one 
word  must  express  the  truest  gratitude  for  such  remem 
brance,  the  most  constant  affection,  and  the  sincerest  satis 
faction  in  the  news  of  your  better  health  ;  so  happily  pro- 


BARLEY    WOOD.  217 

vided  for  by  your  own  wisdom  and  activity,  in  removing 
from  the  vale  below,  and  planting  yourself  so  delightfully 
on  a  hill. 

"  I  desire  the  continuance  of  your  prayers  for  me,  my 
dear  friend.  For,  oh  !  what  is  it  to  live  so  long !  It  is, 
you  will  answer,  the  will  of  Him  '  in  whom  we  live,  and 
move,  and  have  our  being.' 

"  Mrs.  Carter  was  taken  ill  while  dining  with  Mrs.  Ire- 
monger,  but  is  better  to-day.  Adieu,  my  dear  friend." 

But  the  hand  is  soon  still  in  death,  and  her  spirit  re 
leased  from  the  sorrows  and  changes  of  a  long  and  check 
ered  life :  forty  volumes  of  the  Port  Royal  authors  were 
left  to  increase  the  library  of  her  friend,  and  recall  the 
memory  of  days  long  gone  by 

Sickness  again  visited  Barley  Wood,  and  for  a  year  Miss 
More  seemed  hovering  on  the  confines  of  the  grave ;  it 
was  a  period  of  sorrowful  suspense  to  every  one  who 
shared  her  friendship,  or  knew  her  worth  :  anxious  inqui 
ries  were  daily  made  at  the  gate,  and  prayers  for  her  re 
covery  ascended  from  many  a  humble  roof ;  nor  was  this 
solicitude  confined  within  the  cottage  homes  which  had 
been  comforted  by  her  bounty,  and  lighted  by  her  instruc 
tions  :  every  post  brought  letters  of  inquiry  and  sympathy 
from  their  numerous  friends,  and  at  last,  their  fears 
19 


218  HANNAH      MORE. 

were  put  to  rest,  by  the  grateful  prospect  of  returning 
health. 

Meanwhile  good  and  ill  are  sowing  joy  and  sorrow 
around  other  hearts  and  homes.  Cheddar,  their  first  love, 
has  sustained  a  severe  loss  in  the  death  of  its  excellent 
curate,  and  the  faithful  coadjutor  of  the  sisters  in  their 
labors  of  love :  his  plain  preaching  and  pious  life  had 
been  greatly  blessed  to  the  people  of  his  charge;  from 
fifteen,  in  a  few  years,  the  church  increased  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty,  who  gave  diligent  heed  to  maintain  a  con 
science  void  of  offence. 

"  You  would  weep  over  Cheddar,"  said  Miss  More  to 
Wilberforce,  who  loved  Cheddar  also,  "if  you  saw  the 
change  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Drewitt;  no  resident 
minister,  only  a  galloper  from  Wells  on  Sunday,  to  a 
twelve  minutes'  sermon — of  course  the  meeting  thins." 

A  blessed  era  in  humanity  approaches.  The  great  ob 
ject,  to  which  Wilberforce  had  devoted  the  prime  of  his 
life  and  the  strength  of  his  manhood,  was  on  the  eve  of 
completion.  Slowly,  and  steadily  had  the  cause  of  aboli 
tion  gained  upon  the  conscience  of  the  English  people ;  in 
spite  of  defeats,  distrust,  and  discouragements  without  num 
ber,  the  spring  of  1806  brought  blossoms  of  hope  with  the 
promise  of  a  golden  issue.  The  London  Committee,  after 


BARLEY     WOOD.  219 

an  interval  of  seven  years,  re-assembled  in  Palace-yard, 
an  array  of  evidence  was  ready  at  any  moment  to  go 
before  the  House  of  Lords,  Wilberforce  wrote  a  powerful 
appeal  to  the  English  public  upon  the  Slave-trade,  and  all 
the  agencies  which  could  be  brought  to  action  were  again 
marshalled  and  concentrated  for  the  approaching  crisis. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  the  first  reading  of  the  bill 
took  place  before  the  House  of  Lords  :  it  was  a  night  of 
agitation  and  excitement,  of  fear  and  hope :  the  vote  stood 
72  to  28. 

"  Oh  Lord,  let  me  praise  Thee  with  my  whole  heart !" 
ejaculates  Wilberforce. 

The  House  of  Commons  is  grappling  with  it  on  the  23d. 

Men  speak  boldly  for  justice  and  humanity;  they  are 
in  earnest,  and  who  shall  gainsay  them  ?  The  opposition 
was  feeble  and  loose. 

One  of  the  members  called  upon  men  that  day,  to 
mark  how  much  the  rewards  of  virtue  were  superior  to 
those  of  ambition ;  to  contrast  the  feelings  of  Napoleon  in 
his  greatness,  with  those  of  that  honored  individual  who 
should  that  night  lay  his  head  upon  the  pillow  and  re 
member  that  through  his  agency  the  Slave-trade  was  no 
more.  Every  eye  was  directed  towards  Wilberforce,  and  a; 
sudden  burst  of  applause  rang  through  the  house. 


220  HANNAH     MORE. 

The  vote  stood  283  to  16.  A  month  afterwards  it 
came  for  a  third  reading  before  the  House  of  Lords ;  two 
days  afterwards,  the  Bill  received  the  royal  sanction  and 
became  a  law. 

"  Oh,  what  thanks  do  I  owe  the  Giver  of  all  Good,  for 
bringing  me  in  his  Gracious  Providence  to  this  great  cause? 
which  at  length,  after  nineteen  years  of  labor,  is  successful !" 
exclaims  the  master-spirit  of  this  exulting  scene. 

"  To  speak  of  fame  and  glory  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  would 
be  to  use  language  far  beneath  him,"  said  Sir  James 
Mackintosh,  "but  he  will  surely  consider  the  effect  of  his 
triumph  on  the  fruitfulness  of  his  example.  Who  knows 
but  the  greater  part  of  the  benefit,  which  he  has  conferred 
upon  the  world,  may  not  be  the  encouraging  example  that 
the  exertions  of  virtue  may  be  crowned  with  such  splendid 
success  ?  How  precious  is  time !  How  noble  and  sacred 
is  human  nature,  made  capable  of  achieving  such  truly 
great  exploits." 

"  What  a  promise  of  happiness  does  it  bear  to  millions 
and  hundreds  of  millions  of  our  species  !"  wrote  Mr.  Ste 
phens,  the  husband  of  Miss  Wilberforce,  to  Hannah  More, 
"  and  from  what  a  load  of  odious  guilt  and  shame  does  it 
deliver  our  country  !" 


BARLEY    WOOD.  221 

We  may  well  suppose  it  a  day  of  rejoicing  at  Barley 
Wood,  and  especially  within  the  sick  chamber  of  her,  who 
penned,  nearly  twenty  years  before, 

"  What  page  of  human  annals  can  record 
A  deed  so  bright  as  human  rights  restor'd  ? 
Oh  may  that  god-like  deed,  that  shining  page, 
Redeem  our  fame,  and  consecrate  our  age ! 
And  let  this  glory  mark  our  favored  shore, 
To  curb  false  freedom  and  the  true  restore." 

But  the  excellent  Bishop  Porteus,  who  with  grateful 
joy  beheld  ihis  triumph  of  a  most  righteous  cause,  and 
whose  friendship  and  encouragement  had  been  dew  and 
sunshine  to  the  spirit  of  Hannah  More,  was  now  gently 
passing  away.  After  his  eye  had  become  dim  and  his 
natural  force  abated,  he  visited  Barley  Wood,  and  spent  a 
few  days  in  her  society,  a  few  days  golden  with  the 
treasured  experience  of  a  long  friendship. 

Similarity  of  taste  and  character  seems  early  to  have 
drawn  them  together ;  she  was  a  frequent  guest  at  Fulham 
Palace,  where  his  sweetness  of  temper,  playful  wit,  and 
innocent  cheerfulness  delighted  the  society  of  his  more 
intimate  friends,  while  he  exercised  the  functions  of  his 
19* 


222  HANNAH      MORE. 

high  office  with  zeal  and  judgment,  for  the  promotion  of 
true  religion  and  the  best  interests  of  humanity. 

A  few  weeks  before  his  death,  Miss  More  received  from 
him  a  short  and  hurried  note,  begging  her  intercession  at 
the  Throne  of  Mercy  for  divine  aid  on  a  difficult  duty 
which  devolved  upon  him :  "  My  great  hope  and  resource 
is,  what  I  have  always  had  recourse  to  in  such  cases, 
prayer — give  me  then  your  frequent  and  fervent  prayers, 
and  I  shall  hope  for  that  most  powerful  protection  of  a 
Gracious  Providence,  which  I  am  convinced  has  never 
failed  in  similar  cases" — the  nature  of  the  duty,  he  did 
not  unfold,  but  on  the  third  day,  she  received  the  assurance 
that  Prayer  had  had  its  usual  effect,  and  all  was  well. 
How  sublime  a  closing  was  this  to  his  long  and  useful 
life  !  Just  ready  to  lay  aside  his  official  robes  for  the 
winding-sheet,  a  report  reached  him  that  a  club  had  been 
instituted  under  the  patronage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
whose  sittings  were  to  be  on  Sunday ;  a  sacred  and  strict 
observance  of  this  holy  day,  the  Bishop  having  always 
considered  of  vital  importance  to  the  community  and 
church,  this  public  desecration  of  it,  by  those  in  high 
station,  filled  him  with  sorrow  and  alarm.  Rallying  his 
wasted  strength,  he  resolved  to  seek  an  audience  with  his 
prince ;  and  having  arrived  at  Carlton  House,  leaning  on 


BARLEY     WOOD.  223 

the  arms  of  his  attendants,  he  was  led  into  his  presence, 
when  in  solemn  and  earnest  language  he  besought  him 
not  to  violate  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath,  and  lend  his 
example  to  that,  which  must  end  in  corrupting  the  morals 
and  degrading  the  church.  The  Prince  heard  and  yielded  ; 
and  the  servant  of  God  departed  in  peace  :  a  few  more 
days,  and  he  entered  upon  a  Sabbath  of  eternal  rest.  Miss 
More  erected  a  cenotaph  to  his  memory  on  her  grounds  at 
Barley  Wood,  bearing  the  inscription  : — 

TO 
BEILBY   PORTEUS, 

LATE     LORD     B  I  S  H  OP     OF     LONDON, 
IN    GRATEFUL    MEMORY    OF     LONG     AND    FAITHFUL    FRIENDSHIP. 

H.  M. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

/ailing  tun*. 

IN  the  summer  of  1810  we  find  Miss  More  making  a 
tour  among  some  good  and  agreeable  friends  in  Gloucester, 
reviving  the  friendships  of  earlier  days,  and  adding  many 
new  ones  to  the  already  extended  list. 

"  I  have  been  visiting,"  she  writes  to  Mrs.  Kennicott,  "  the 
scenes  where  we  used  to  gipsy,  and  traced  many  a  spot 
where  I  had  picked  dry  sticks  to  boil  the  tea-kettle,  under 
a  shady  oak,  or  broiled  a  mutton-chop  on  knitting-needles. 
The  companions  of  our  harmless  rambles  are  all  gone." 

Dead  leaves  are  strewing  her  way,  and  long  shadows 
hover  among  the  mellow  tints  of  autumn. 

Mrs.  Montagu,  sprightly  and  beautiful  even  at  fourscore, 
had  gone,  and  a  volume  of  her  letters  was  already  before 
the  public  :  they  were  her  first  letters,  facts  of  an  early  cor 
respondence  with  the  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  com 
menced  when  she  was  but  eleven  years.  Her  friend  and 
intimate,  Elizabeth  Carter,  lived  only  a  year  or  two  longer, 


FALLING     LEAVES.  225 

surrounded  by  all  that  could  make  long  life  venerable  and 
attractive,  "  honor,  love,  obedience,  and  troops  of  friends." 

Miss  More  has  passed  threescore  years  of  her  pilgrimage, 
and  more,  and  if  there  be  an  abatement  of  bodily  vigor, 
there  is  no  slackness  of  the  spiritual  energies,  the  hidden 
fires  that  glow  within.  In  spite  of  tormenting  bile,"  a  bur 
densome  correspondence,  and  almost  incessant  company, 
time  and  strength  have  not  been  wanting  to  write  "  Prac 
tical  Piety,"  one  of  her  favorite  works  in  this  country,  and 
one  which  is  far  superior  to  many  works  of  a  kindred  char 
acter  that  have  superseded  it.  After  describing  what 
Christianity  is  as  an  internal  principle,  she  thus  unfolds  its 
practical  influence  upon  man,  in  relation  to  his  fellows. 
"  The  love  of  God,  as  it  is  the  only  source  of  every  right 
feeling  and  action,  so  it  is  the  only  principle  which  neces 
sarily  involves  the  love  of  our  fellow-creatures.  There  is  a 
love  of  partiality,  but  not  of  benevolence ;  of  sensibility, 
but  not  of  philanthropy ;  of  friends  and  favorites,  of  par 
ties  and  societies,  but  not  of  men  collectively.  It  is  true, 
we  may  and  do,  without  this  principle,  relieve  his  distresses, 
but  we  do  not  bear  with  his  faults.  We  may  promote  his 
fortune,  but  we  do  not  forgive  his  offences  ;  above  all,  we 
are  not  anxious  for  his  immortal  interests.  We  could  not 
see  him  want,  without  pain,  but  we  can  see  him  sin  with- 


226  HANNAH      MORE. 

out  emotion.  We  could  not  hear  of  a  beggar  perishing 
at  our  door,  without  horror,  but  we  can,  without  concern, 
witness  an  acquaintance  dying  without  repentance.  Is  it 
not  strange  that  we  must  participate  something  of  the  di 
vine  nature,  before  we  can  really  love  the  human?  It 
seems  to  be  an  insensibility  to  sin,  rather  than  want  of  be 
nevolence  to  mankind,  that  makes  us  naturally  pity  their 
temporal,  and  be  careless  of  their  spiritual  wants  :  but 
does  not  this  very  insensibility  proceed  from  a  want  of  love 
to  God  ?" 

This  discriminating  extract  may,  perhaps,  help  us  to 
form  something  like  a  correct  estimate  of  what  is  some 
times  called  "sentimental  benevolence,"  "  the  rose  and  pink 
philanthropy,"  which  every  now  and  then  blubbers  over 
human  suffering,  as  if  nobody  knew  or  cared  for  it  before. 
Some  think  everything  of  it,  and  hope  all  things  from  it : 
others  rate  it  very  low,  calling  it  good  for  nothing.  What 
is  it  really  worth  ? 

It  really  feels  for  the  disorders  which  afflict  humanity, 
at  least,  while  it  lasts ;  it  really  desires  to  relieve  them, 
and  sets  about  reforming  some  of  the  external  and  more 
prominent  evils,  in  the  hope  that  if  they  are  cured,  those 
of  lesser  note  will  naturally  flat  away,  and  society,  in  the 
end,  will  be  righted.  Sin  is  regarded  as  accidental,  rather 


FALLING     LEAVES.  227 

than  radical ;  an  excuse,  rather  than  a  cause ;  poverty 
a  penality  for  wealth,  rather  than  a  consequence  of  idleness 
and  unthrift ;  restraint,  discipline,  and  punishment  the  in 
exorable  decrees  of  the  few,  instead  of  the  necessary  safe 
guards  for  the  many  ;  reformation  of  institutions  is  more 
aimed  at  than  regeneration  of  principles.  But  it  is  found 
to  be  a  far  more  difficult  and  perplexing  work  than  was 
counted  for :  it  is  like  stopping  the  leaks  of  an  old  building 
with  sand  ;  it  gets  soon  discouraged  at  the  hopeless  nature 
of  its  task ;  yet,  unwilling  to  abandon  it,  still  anxious  to 
seem  to  do  even  when  it  knows  not  what  to  do,  or  where 
to  begin,  it  runs  to  find  fault  with  those  who  continue 
patiently  laboring,  because  so  much  still  remains  to  be 
done,  and  rail  at  their  instruments  without  offering  them 
better.  The  truth  is,  this  philanthropy  springs  from  the 
natural  sensibilities  and  sympathies  of  the  heart,  which  are 
amiable,  rather  than  efficient ;  self-loving,  rather  than  self- 
sacrificing  ;  the  parent  of  feeling,  more  than  of  principle ; 
partaking  more  of  the  demagogue  than  the  true  patriot. 

The  disordered  state  of  the  world,  it  must  be  confessed, 
is  painful  and  perplexing  in  the  extreme  :  but  the  disease 
lies  at  the  heart  and  in  the  core  of  society,  and  there  is  no 
love  for  man  but  that  which  springs  from  love  to  God, 
which  is  strong  and  faithful  enough  to  work  for  his  salva- 


228  HANNAH      MORE. 

tion.     The  maxims,  motives,  and  aims  which  control  man 
are  wrong,  and  nothing  but  the  reception  of  those  princi 
ples  which  God  has  given  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  can 
essentially  improve  his  inward,  or  better  his  outward  con 
dition.     While  much,  very  much  may  be  done  to  benefit 
and  reform  the  institutions  of  society,  evils  still  remain 
which  admit  of   no   cure,  but  which   must  be  patiently 
borne ;  and  it  is  surely  far  more  difficult  to  bear  each  other's 
burden  than  to  comfort  with  the   promise  of  removing 
them.     In  attempting,  then,  to  do  any  permanent  good  to 
our  fellows,  we  must  not  only  relieve  their  distresses,  but 
amend  their  principles ;    not  only  promote  their  temporal 
welfare,  but  be  careful  for  their  immortal  interests  ;  not  only 
excite  their  activity,  but  teach  them  submission  ;  not  only 
give  them  alms,  but  forgive  their  offences.     To  do  this, 
you   must   be   patient    and   pains-taking,   continuing   on, 
yet  ever  forbearing.     You  must  lay  your  account  with  in 
gratitude  and  improvidence,  disappointment  and  reproach. 
You  must  meet  evils  with  manliness,  and  exigencies  with 
out  fear  or  disheartening.     You  are  to  expend  no  unavail 
ing  sympathy,,  to  utter  no  useless  complaints,  to  offer  no 
affected  condolence,  to  make  no  false  promises.    Your  duty 
is  to  labor  and  to  wait.     In  order  to  do  this,  you  must  love 
your   fellow-men,  because   Christ   loves   them  ;   suffer  for 


FALLING     LEAVES.  229 

them,  because  He  suffered  for  them ;  labor  for  them,  be 
cause  He  died  for  them. 

"  Practical  Piety"  cannot  be  too  highly  recommended ; 
it  should  be  in  every  library,  as  well  as  in  every  heart: 
it  is  a  book  for  our  serious  and  thoughtful  moments,  when 
we  desire  to  inquire  calmly,  and  seek  sincerely  after  that 
obedience  which  is  "  perfect  and  entire,  wanting  nothing." 
Its  expression  differs  somewhat  from  religious  works  of  a 
later  growth  ;  it  contains  no  fervid  appeals,  no  declamatory 
entreaties,  no  exaggerated  or  one-sided  estimates,  no  start 
ling  phrases ;  it  discourses  earnestly  of  our  duties  and 
dangers  as  professed  servants  of  God  ;  it  deals  candidly 
and  plainly,  telling  us  what  we  are  and  what  we  must  be ; 
it  shows  that  no  superficial  obedience  can  stand  in  place  of 
an  entire  surrender  of  the  whole  man  to  the  service  of 
God ;  it  allows  no  partial  standard,  or  low  estimate,  or 
sluggish  action  in  the  Christian  life. 

"  Many  are  reformed,"  it  tells  us,  "  on  human  motives, 
many  are  only  partially  reformed ;  but  those  only  who,  as 
our  great  poet  says,  are  '  reformed  altoy  ether]  are  converted. 
There  is  no  complete  reformation  of  the  conduct  effected 
without  a  revolution  in  the  heart.  Ceasing  from  some 
sins;  retaining  others  in  a  less  degree;  or  adopting  such 
as  are  merely  creditable;  or  flying  from  one  sin  to  another, 
20 


230  HANNAH      MORE. 

or  ceasing  from  the  external  act  without  any  internal 
change  of  disposition,  is  not  Christian  reformation.  The 
natural  bias  must  be  changed.  The  actual  offence  will  no 
more  be  pardoned  than  cured,  if  the  inward  corruption 
be  not  eradicated.  To  be  '  alive  unto  God,  through  Jesus 
Christ,'  must  follow  '  death  unto  sin.'  There  cannot  be 
new  aims  and  ends,  where  there  is  not  a  new  principle  to 
produce  them." 

"  It  is  not  casting  a  set  of  opinions  into  a  mould  and  a 
set  of  duties  into  a  system,  which  constitutes  the  Christian 
religion.  The  circumference  must  have  a  centre,  the  body 
must  have  a  soul,  the  performances  must  have  a  principle. 
Outward  observances  were  wisely  constituted  to  rouse  our 
forgetful  ness,  to  awaken  our  secular  spirits,  to  call  back  our 
negligent  hearts.  They  were  designed  to  execute  holy 
thoughts,  to  quicken  us  to  holy  deeds,  but  not  to  be  used 
as  equivalents  to  either. 

"  Nothing  short  of  a  uniform  and  stable  principle,  that 
fixedness  in  religion  which  directs  a  man  in  all  his  actions, 
aims,  and  pursuits,  to  God  as  his  ultimate  end,  can  give 
consistency  to  his  character  or  tranquillity  to  his  soul." 

In  speaking  of  the  importance  of  correcting  small  faults 
and  cherishing  the  minor  virtues,  these  making  up  the 
sum  of  human  character,  it  says,  "  The  reason  why  what 


FALLING     LEAVES.  231 

are  called  religious  people  often  differ  so  little  from  others 
in  small  trials  is,  that  instead  of  bringing  religion  to  their 
aid  in  their  lesser  vexations,  they  either  leave  the  disturb 
ance  to  prey  upon  their  minds  or  apply  to  false  reliefs  for 
its  removal.  Those  who  are  rendered  unhappy  by  frivolous 
troubles,  seek  comfort  in  frivolous  enjoyments.  But  we 
should  apply  the  same  remedy  to  ordinary  trials,  as  to 
great  ones ;  for  as  small  disquietudes  spring  from  the 
same  cause  as  great  ones,  namely,  the  uncertain  and  imper 
fect  condition  of  human  nature,  so  they  require  the  same 
remedy.  You  would  apply  to  religion  on  the  loss  of  your 
child — apply  to  it  on  the  loss  of  your  temper.  As  no 
calamity  is  too  great  for  the  power  of  piety  to  mitigate,  so 
none  is  too  small  to  experience  its  beneficial  results.  Our 
behavior  under  the  ordinary  accidents  of  life  form  a 
characteristic  distinction  between  different  classes  of  Chris 
tians  :  the  least  advanced  resort  to  religion  on  great  occa 
sions  ;  the  deeper  proficient  resorts  to  it  on  all. 

"  An  acquaintance  with  the  nature  of  human  evils  and 
of  their  remedy,  would  check  that  spirit  of  complaint  which 
so  much  abounds,  and  which  often  makes  so  little  differ 
ence  between  those  who  profess  religion  and  those  who  do 
not. 

"  If  our  duties  are  not  great,  they  become  important  by 


232  HANNAH     MORE. 

the  constant  demand  that  is  made  for  them.  They  have 
been  called  the  '  small  coin  of  human  life,'  and  on  their 
perpetual  and  unobstructed  circulation  depends  much  of 
the  comfort  and  convenience  of  life.  How  few  of  us  are 
called  to  carry-  the  gospel  in  distant  lands! — but  which 
of  us  is  not  called  every  day  to  adorn  its  doctrines,  by 
gentleness,  kindness,  and  forbearance  ?" 

Alas,  is  there  not  a  sad  want  of  thoroughness  in  our 
religious  character  in  these  days  ?  Is  our  religion  exercised 
as  it  should  be,  in  fostering  our  little  virtues  and  subduing 
our  smaller  faults  ?  Are  not  Christians  too  apt  to  rest  in 
the  hope  of  their  conversion,  without  evincing  its  reality  by 
practical  piety  ?  Are  we  not  apt  to  think  the  business  of 
religion  done  by  a  sluggish  compliance  with  some  of  its 
most  obvious  requirements  ?  We  may  frown  upon  immo 
ralities,  but  do  we  cleanse  the  heart  ?  We  subscribe  to 
associations  for  good,  but  is  there  not  a  secret  satisfaction 
that  we  can  delegate  our  names  to  do  that,  which  we 
should  be  loth  to  do  ourselves  ?  The  cardinal  doctrine  of 
some  seems  to  be,  that  "  union  is  power,"  and  as  a  natural 
consequence  most  of  the  great  evils  of  the  world  will  be 
banished  by  the  existence  of  Societies,  without  one's  having 
any  direct  responsibility  in  the  matter;  they  have  great 
faith  in  resolutions  and  reports,  and  they  love  to  attend 


FALLING     LEAVES.  233 

the  anniversary  meetings ;  it  gratifies  their  benevolence  to 
hear  what  good  has  been  done  in  Patagonia  and  Siain. 
As  for  the  great  mass  of  sin,  wretchedness,  and  guilt  within 
and  around  them,  the  most  that  could  be  said  of  it,  there 
it  is :  and  they  content  themselves  with  thinking  that 
Christianity  will  cure  it,  only  give  it  time  :  it  sometimes 
strikes  them  strangely  enough,  that  within  the  very  heart 
of  the  Christian  community  there  should  be  so  much 
corruption,  but  it  is  only  a  running  commentary  upon  the 
Bible,  and  the  Bible,  they  know,  contains  an  adequate 
remedy  for  it ;  not  many  Sabbaths  before,  perhaps,  their 
hearts  have  burned  at  the  preacher's  glowing  account  of 
that  redemption,  which  cometh  through  Jesus  Christ,  but 
who  shall  illustrate  its  excellences,  bear  its  gracious  messa 
ges,  and  dispense  its  blessed  charities,  it  is  not  for  them 
particularly  to  inquire  ;  they  go  to  church  and  pay  the 
minister,  the  Bible  Society  will  do  the  rest,  or  the  city 
missionary, — they  subscribe  to  both.  To  neighbors  and  ac 
quaintance,  they  are  friendly  and  courteous,  wishing  them 
well ;  to  a  certain  extent,  they  are  glad  to  hear  of  their 
success,  arid  they  pity  them  in  misfortune ;  if  they  are  not 
members  of  the  church,  they  hope  they  will  be,  indeed 
they  rather  wonder  that  some  of  them  are  not,  they  surely 
seem  fit  for  it,  though  it  might  confound  them  to  describe 
20* 


234  HANNAH      MORE. 

the  temper  and  spirit  that  should  belong  to  the  servants 
of  God.  In  daily  life  they  are  troubled  and  anxious  about 
many  things :  petty  annoyances  and  small  trials  vex  the 
spirit  and  disturb  their  peace  ;  indecision  and  peevishness, 
vanity  and  trifling,  not  restrained  and  subdued  by  that 
power  which  can  cleanse  the  heart  as  well  as  guide  the 
steps,  bring  discredit  upon  higher  duties  and  dishonor 
upon  the  Christian  name. 

It  is  often  said  that  the  church  is  false  to  her  trust : 
we  are  often  surprised  to  find  how  imperfectly  christianized 
even  Christians  are ;  piety  seems  sometimes  to  have  lost 
its  savor,  nay,  it  is  even  whispered  that  Christianity  is  a 
failure.  These  are  something  more  than  the  suggestions  of 
unbelief  or  the  excuses  of  the  short-coming.  Alas,  is  there 
not  cause  for  doubts  like  these !  and  do  they  not  mainly 
spring  from  a  lack  of  thoroughness  and  completeness  in 
Christian  character,  a  want  of  that  practical  and  progressive 
piety,  which  unhappily  distinguishes  but  comparatively 
few  ?  but  which,  wherever  it  is  found,  is  just  what  the 
Bible  describes  it,  a  sober,  righteous,  holy  living,  light  in 
darkness,  salt,  preserving  and  purifying.  We  need  to 
carry  our  Christianity  more  into  our  daily  tempers  and 
hourly  occupations  ;  it  is  more  needed  in  the  counting- 
room,  the  work-shop,  the  parlor  and  the  kitchen ;  it  is 


FALLING     LEAVES.  235 

needed  to  make  us  more  honest,  just,  patient,  charitable, 
meek,  peaceful,  and  of  good  report  j  we  must  allow  it  to 
restrain  and  temper  our  whole  man ;  we  must  live  it  in  all 
the  minor  acts  as  well  as  higher  relations  of  life,  that  all 
around  shall  perceive  its  excellency  and  honor  its  divine 
author ;  we  must  show  that  it  is  not  variable  and  capri 
cious,  governed  by  our  circumstances  or  self-interest,  but 
that  it  is  steadfast,  governing  us,  and  moulding  our  charac 
ter  into  a  growing  likeness  to  Jesus  Christ  our  pattern. 
While  it  lends  a  helping  hand  to  those  numerous  in 
strumentalities  and  manifold  associations,  which  are  used 
to  extend  the  knowledge  of  true  piety,  it  must  not  suffer 
them  to  usurp  the  place,  personal  responsibility,  and  individ 
ual  faithfulness  in  the  humbler  sphere  of  daily  influence. 
In  a  word,  nothing  is  more  wanted  to  give  strength  and 
stability  to  the  churches,  power  and  victory  to  the  word  of 
God,  discouragement  and  defeat  to  essential  errors  and 
sinful  systems,  than  Practical  Piety,  steadfast,  consistent, 
and  progressive  among  the  people  of  God. 

Its  excessive  strictness  was  made  a  matter  of  complaint 
among  some  of  her  religious  friends. 

"  The  gospel  is  strict,"  was  her  reply  ;  "  the  cutting  off 
a  right  hand,  or  the  plucking  out  of  a  right  eye,  though 
only  used  as  metaphors  and  illustrations,  is  surely  move 


236  HANNAH     MORE. 

strict  than  an}7 thing  I  have  said.  The  standard  of  religion 
should  be  always  kept  high :  the  very  best  of  us  are  al 
ways  sure  to  pull  it  down  a  good  many  pegs  in  our  prac 
tice,  but  how  much  lower  is  the  practice  of  those  who  fix  a 
lower  standard  than  the  New  Testament  holds  out  ?" 

But,  cannot  you  write  of  Christianity  in  more  general 
terms,  like  Addison  and  Johnson,  and  not  dwell  so  much 
on  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  they  said  again. 

"  Much  as  I  honor  and  love  these,"  answered  she,  "  their 
writings  would  have  done  a  far  wider  and  deeper  good, 
had  they  not  generalized  religion  so  much.  The  sound 
ness  of  Johnson's  principles  is  incontestable,  but  he  scarcely 
ever  enters  on  any  evangelical  truth.  Addison  had  a  de 
vout  spirit,  still  he  appears  not  to  have  entered  into  those 
deep  views  of  evangelical  truth,  which  abound  in  Pascal 
and  Taylor,  in  Leighton  and  Hall ;  and  my  regret  is,  that 
they  did  not  dwell  more  on  the  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
and  upon  what  distinguishes  it  from  all  religious  systems 
as  a  scheme  of  salvation" 

Compare  the  influence  of  Johnson  and  Addison,  as 
moralists  and  Christians,  celebrated  and  world-read  as  they 
are,  with  Baxter  and  Doddridge,  how  do  they  sink  into 
comparative  insignificance  before  the  pungent,  searching, 
humbling  teachings  of  believing  men,  who  took  the  Bible 


FALLING     LEAVES. 


237 


as  God  gave  it,  daring  neither  to  lessen  nor  to  narrow  its 
solemn  and  awful  truths,  as  they  stand  recorded  on  its  in 
spired  pages.  It  is  such  men  only  who  can  meet  the 
wants  of  sinful  man ;  it  is  only  such  preaching  and  such 
teaching  that  can  measure  the  depth  of  human  frailty  and 
corruption,  and  which  can  propose  a  remedy  to  satisfy  the 
conscious  need  of  the  burdened  spirit.  Men  are  frail,  and 
imperfect,  and  sorrowful,  but  they  are  something  more,— 
they  are  sinners,  and  are  conscious  of  a  weight  of  ill-desert, 
of  which  no  one  can  relieve  them.  Christian  generalities 
may  arrest  the  ear,  and  please  the  reason,  but  they  do  not, 
and  they  cannot  strike  the  conscience,  compel  a  man  to 
stop,  let  go  his  hold  on  the  world,  and  cry  out  with  an 
earnestness  never  felt  before,  "What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?" 

It  is  only  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the  Bible, 
urged  by  those  who  have  felt  their  power,  that  can  have 
any  direct  or  permanent  influence  upon  the  life  and  con 
science  of  others  ;  any  system  short  of  a  recognition  of  a 
man's  apostasy,  his  pardon  and  restoration  through  Jesus 
Christ,  with  the  consequent  fruits  of  a  holy  life,  all  the 
tremendous  issues  of  which  hang  upon  immediate  action, 
any  system  short  of  this,  may  it  not  be  repeated,  is  in 
operative  and  inefficient  towards  bringing  men  to  repent 


238  HANNAH     MORE. 

ance  and  faith,  to  holiness  and  heaven.  Believers  there 
are  all  over  the  church  of  Christ  on  earth,  who,  under 
God,  bless  Doddridge  and  Baxter  for  the  joy  set  before 
them,  while  saints,  singing  the  song  of  Moses  and  the 
Lamb,  will  be  crowns  of  their  rejoicing  in  the  Great  Day. 

It  was  this  solemn  persuasion  of  the  essential  features 
of  Bible  truth  which  gave  such  power  to  the  teaching  and 
example  of  Hannah  More  ;  a  power  which  offended  some, 
but  benefited  more.  In  all  her  writings,  and  in  all  her 
plans  for  human  good,  her  great  and  especial  design  was 
to  seek  and  to  save  those  who  are  lost.  This  was  her 
heart's  desire,  and  it  was  this  which  quickened  her  in  her 
long  and  wearisome  journey  among  the  neighboring 
parishes,  even  after  the  infirmities  of  age  and  sickness 
crept  over  the  body,  and  gave  vigor  to  her  pen,  while  the 
hand  that  held  it  was  cramped  with  pain,  and  benumbed 
by  weakness. 

The  earnest  and  heart-felt  piety  which  springs  from  a 
believing  reception  of  divine  truth  is  often  confounded  with 
gloom  and  austerity,  and  yet  there  is  none  which  can  give 
such  cheerfulness  to  life,  and  such  hope  in  death.  To  one 
who  asked  whether  her  serious  pursuits  had  not  destroyed 
her  relish  for  pleasantry,  she  replied,  "  As  you  cannot  see 
those  who  live  with  me,  you  must  take  my  testimony,  that 


FALLING     LEAVES.  239 

I  am  neither  a  bigot  nor  a  misanthrope, — my  spirits  are 
good,  and  even  gay.  I  hope  it  is  no  infringement  on  bet 
ter  things  to  say,  that  my  bite  for  humor,  and  a  sort  of 
sensible  nonsense,  is  not  a  whit  diminished.  A  life  of  ill- 
health  has  no  ways  impaired  my  constitutional  cheerfulness, 
and  I  am  sometimes  afraid  that  I  take  more  than  my  share 
of  society." 

Practical  Piety  was  followed  by  Christian  Morals,  which 
soon  passed  through  eleven  editions. 

But  while  her  pen  was  more  busy  and  instructive  than 
ever,  the  sisters  were  compelled  to  curtail  their  labors  on 
the  Sabbath.  The  Mendip  schools  had  survived  the  Blag- 
don  controversy,  and,  like  good  children  of  a  healthy  stock, 
they  looked  well  and  thriving ;  neither  spite  nor  misrepre 
sentation  could  essentially,  or  for  any  length  of  time,  im 
pair  an  influence  like  theirs  ;  but  neither  Hannah  nor  Patty 
were  longer  equal  to  the  fatigue  of  superintending  so  large 
a  field  ;  three  parishes  only  continued  to  share  their  bene 
factions,  Shipham,  Nailsea,  and  Cheddar,  their  last,  as  well 
as  their  first  love.  Here  were  teachers  who  had  been 
twenty  years  in  their  service,  faithful  and  well-approved ; 
men  and  women,  husbands  and  wives,  and  heads  of  families, 
who  from  little  children  had  grown  up  in  the  schools,  and 
become  worthy  citizens,  and  servants  of  God  :  many  had 


240  HANNAH      MORE. 

passed  through  sickness  and  tribulation,  having  obtained  a 
good  report  through  faith,  and  at  last  died  ripe  with 
Christian  hopes :  peace,  good  order,  industry,  everywhere 
prevailed  over  the  once  abandoned  district ;  friendly  neigh 
borhoods  and  happy  families,  thankful  hearts  and  tidy 
hearths,  bore  witness  that  the  word  of  God  is  valuable  for 
the  life  that  now  is,  as  well  as  that  which  is  to  come. 

Now  there  is  sorrow  in  Barley  Wood  :  they  who  have 
comforted  others,  need  themselves  comfort.  Mary,  the 
first-born  of  the  sisters,  is  not,  for  God  took  her :  during 
five  days  of  suffering  no  murmur  or  complaint  escaped 
her  Tips  ;  calmly  she  talked  of  "  going  home,"  and  picked 
out  the  poor  man  who  should  bear  her  to  her  narrow  cell. 
The  sisters  gathered  around  her  dying  bed :  it  was  Sunday 
morning  when  she  breathed  her  last. 

"  How  blessed  to  die  on  Easter  Sunday,"  spake  Hannah, 
"  to  descend  to  the  wave  when  Jesus  triumphed  over  it." 

Twenty  times  a  day  did  they  visit  her  cold  remains :  "  I 
divide  the  morning  between  the  contemplation  of  her 
serene  countenance  and  my  favorite,  Baxter's  Saint's  Rest," 
said  Hannah,  her  tears  stayed,  as  with  the  eye  of  faith 
she  beholds  the  eldest,  "  not  lost,  but  gone  before." 

This  was  in  April,  1813. 

As  the  summer  came,  with  its  fruits  and  flowers,  a  jour- 


FALLING     LEAVES.  241 

ney,  with  its  change  of  scene  and  air,  was  necessary  to  re 
cruit  the  exhausted  strength  of  the  two  younger  sisters. 
They  went  into  Surrey  and  Kent,  drove  through  the  envi 
rons  of  London,  visited  Henry  Thornton,  and  passed  a  day 
with  Wilberforce,  whom  they  had  not  seen  for  some  years, 
the  home  influences  of  whose  quiet,  but  elegant  house, 
greatly  gratified  Miss  Hannah  More. 

"  What  extensive  good  has  Mr.  Wilberforce  done  among 
young  persons  of  fashion,  by  the  intellectual  and  religious 
intercourse  of  his  family !"  she  declares.  It  was  not  only 
in  his  public  acts  and  outward  life  that  Wllberforce  was  a 
Christian ;  in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  in  his  intercourse 
with  his  children,  in  the  frank  and  chastened  courtesy  of 
his  manners  in  daily  life,  everything  revealed  an  elevated 
tone  of  piety. 

"  A  few  such  hours,"  said  she,  "  where  inquiring  minds 
know  that  they  shall  meet  with  good  company,  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  word,  would,  I  am  sure,  fortify  the  minds,  and 
cheer  the  spirits,  as  well  as  confirm  the  principles  of  many. 
I  know  that  many  have  been  deterred  from  the  society  of 
religious  persons  by  some  want  of  discretion  and  delicacy, 
which  they  have  been  glad  to  magnify,  in  order  to  get 
quite  out  of  the  connection  :  I  am,  however,  aware,  that 
all  one's  prudence  is  not  sufficient  to  clear  away  the  charge 
21 


* 

242  HANNAH     MORE. 

of  enthusiasm  which  the  world  is  ever  watching  for  an  oc 
casion  to  bring  forward  against  those  who  exhibit  a  more 
than  ordinary  degree  of  strictness, — but  this  they  must  be 
contented  to  bear  for  their  Great  Master,  who  bore  so 
much  for  them." 

But  a  great  improvement  was  already  visible  in  the 
higher  class  of  English  society  :  "  Twenty  years  ago,"  said 
Jane  Porter,  "  while  a  child,  I  have  cried  to  hear  people  at 
the  table  scoff  so  at  religion,  with  nobody  daring  to  defend 
it :  now  such  a  thing  would  not  be  tolerated." 

An  increasing  seriousness  and  respect  for  religious  things 
were  everywhere  manifest ;  the  Sabbath  was  more  strictly 
observed:  scoffing  and  levity  upon  sacred  truths,  were 
not  only  considered  vulgar,  but  undignified  and  frowned 
upon.  A  higher  and  better  tone  of  moral  feeling  began  to 
pervade  the  public  prints,  and  the  tendency  among  all 
classes  seemed  to  be  upward :  no  small  part  of  this  change 
may  be  traced  to  the  influence  of  Hannah  More,  whose 
literary  fame  preceded  and  opened  the  way  for  her 
religious  writings.  Known  and  admired  as  she  had  been 
in  the  most  elegant  and  learned  circles  of  the  metropolis, 
it  happily  became  the  fashion  to  read  her  productions,  and 
thus  her  works  had  an  entrance  and  an  unconscious  influ 
ence  in  circles  otherwise  adverse  to  religious  reading  of  so 


FALLING     LEAVES.  243 

decided  a  character,  and  indeed,  to  religious  reading  of  any 
kind.  Nor  did  fashion  here  show  her  usual  fickleness  : 
Miss  More  continued  to  be  read  and  re-read,  published  and 
circulated,  with  an  ever-increasing  interest  and  improve 
ment  ;  nor  can  we  ever  imagine  the  time  to  be,  when  the 
Shepherd  of  Salisbury  Plain  shall  not  be  reckoned  among 
the  most  beautiful,  touching,  and  truthful  illustrations  of 
the  power  of  divine  grace. 

But  while  our  pen  records  her  worth,  she  has  left  the 
mansion  of  Wilberforce,  and  taken  her  way  to  Strawberry 
Hill,  now  the  residence  of  Lady  Waldegrave,  where  a 
thousand  recollections  of  the  past,  partly  pleasing,  but 
more  painful,  filled  her  heart.  Here  too  was  Hampton, 
where  for  thirty  years  she  had  passed  a  portion  of  every 
winter  with  Mrs.  Garrick.  It  had  now  been  several  years 
since  they  had  met.  Of  all  the  old  circle  who  first  wel 
comed  her  to  London,  Mrs.  Garrick  alone  was  living,  and 
she  was  past  ninety.  Miss  More  hastened  to  see  her ;  she 
was  away,  but  the  library,  the  lawn,  the  temple  of  Shak- 
speare — she  would  see  all  for  the  last  time  !  Contrast  her 
feelings  now  with  the  glow  of  youthful  enthusiasm  which 
lighted  her  soul,  and  quickened  her  step,  as  she  ran  over 
the  lawn,  and  stood  in  the  temple  forty  years  before. 
Youth  and  health  were  then  hers;  life,  sportive,  gay, 


244  HANNAH     MORE. 

literary,  intellectual,  was  full  of  present  gladness  and  future 
promise.  "What  blossoms  of  hope  hung  in  her  path !  but 
how  little  did  she  foresee  or  dream  what  the  fruit  should 
be :  forty  years  of  summer  and  winter,  of  spring-time  and 
harvest ;  how  many  circles  broken,  how  many  graves  are 
grass-grown.  "What  wit,  what  talents,  what  vivacity, 
what  friendship  have  I  enjoyed  in  this  place,"  she  said 
tearfully.  "  Where  are  they  now  ?  I  have  been  mercifully 
spared  to  see  the  vanity  and  emptiness  of  everything  that 
is  not  connected  with  eternity ;  and  seeing  this,  hoiv  heavy 
will  my  condemnation  be,  if  I  do  not  lay  it  to  heart." 

Her  frame  is  feeble,  her  step  is  tottering,  her  face 
wrinkled  with  age ;  the  air  is  chilly.  So  the  outward 
perisheth,  but  within,  what  a  fountain  of  life  !  how  price 
less,  how  exhaustless !  What  spiritual  excellency,  what 
strength,  what  vigor,  what  serenity,  what  power  beneath 
that  sinking  and  sickly  frame  !  It  is  the  divine  life,  drawn 
from  Christ,  the  living  head. 

The  travellers  returned  to  Barley  Wrood,  and  in  the 
autumn,  Mr.  Wilberforce,  with  his  wife  and  daughters, 
spent  a  few  delightful  days  at  this  "favored  seat  of  in 
tellectual  and  religious  sunshine,"  as  it  was  afterwards 
called  by  one  of  the  sons  of  this  favored  guest.  A  new 
source  of  interest  and  activity  opened  upon  the  sisters  by 


FALLING     LEAVES.  245 

the  formation  of  a  Branch  Bible  Society,  in  the  parish  of 
Wrington.  The  great  difficulty  in  obtaining  anything  like 
an  adequate  supply  of  Bibles  for  either  home  or  foreign 
circulation,  led  to  the  foundation  of  the  Foreign  Bible 
Society  as  early  as  1803,  in  which  all  religious  parties 
united,  alike  without  regard  to  party  or  sect.  JSTo  society 
ever  had  a  broader  or  more  blessed  mission ;  its  operations 
were  confined  to  no  creed  or  country  :  its  field  was  the 
world.  When  a  few  used  to  meet  in  Mr.  Hardcastle's 
counting-room,  to  consult  together  and  prepare  measures 
for  its  formation,  Mr.  Wilberforce  came  also.  It  was 
planted  a  very  little  seed  ;  it  grew  up  and  "  became  a 
goodly  tree,  which  yielded  her  fruit  every  month,  and  the 
leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations." 

The  first  anniversary  of  the  Wrington  Branch,  was  held 
on  the  grounds  of  Barley  Wood  ;  the  spiritual  climate 
being  cold,  none  of  the  Mendip  gentry  were  sufficiently 
warmed  with  the  subject  to  open  their  mansions.  The 
meeting  was  held  in  the  wagon-yard — one  hundred  sat 
down  to  dinner,  and  as  it  was  a  fine  day,  the  overflowings 
from  the  house  dined  under  the  trees. 

"Some  may  think  it  would  have  been  better  to  add 
£20  to  our  subscription,"  said  Miss  More  to  Wilberforce, 
"  and  save  ourselves  so  much  trouble ;  but  we  take  this 
21* 


246  HANNAH      MORE. 

trouble  from  a  conviction  of  the  contrary.  The  many 
young  persons  of  fortune  present,  by  assisting  in  this  little 
festivity,  will  learn  to  connect  the  idea  of  innocent  cheerful 
ness  with  that  of  religious  societies,  and  '  may  go  and 
do  likewise.'  For  no  other  cause  on  earth  would  we  en 
counter  so  much  fatigue."  They  all  enjoyed  themselves 
exceedingly,  and  the  lawn  had  all  the  gaiety  of  a  public 
garden. 

Let  us  hear  how  Barley  Wood  and  its  gifted  mistress 
strikes  a  stranger  from  the  West.  A  lady  from  Massa 
chusetts  pays  her  a  visit.  "  How  did  she  look  ?" — and 
"  what  did  Hannah  More  say  ?" — are  fair  questions  enough. 
"Miss  More  was  about  seventy-five  years  old,  at  the 
time  I  saw  her,  with  an  eye  as  brilliant  as  a  girl  of 
eighteen — a  dark  hazel  color,  with  a  full,  matronly  form 
of  medium  height.  Her  dress  was  of  black  cambric,  with 
a  plain,  double  muslin  handkerchief  over  it,  and  a  full- 
ruffled  muslin  cap.  But  her  conversation ! — that  was  the 
charm !  interspersed  frequently  with  quotations  from  Scrip 
ture.  When  we  commended  her  works,  and  told  her  we 
thought  great  good  had  been  done  by  them  in  America, 
her  reply  was,  '  Oh,  if  any  good  has  been  done  by  them, 
if  the  few  tinsel  talents  I  possess  may  have  been  made 
useful!  The  Lord  is  sometimes  pleased  to  employ  the 


FALLING.  LEAVES.  247 

feeblest  instruments  in  his  service — do  not  praise  me,  but 
give  God  the  glory,  it  is  all  of  Him !  You  are  very  en 
couraging,  and  I  need  encouragement.' 

"  Miss  More  said,  *  We  might  think  it  an  odd  speech  she 
was  about  to  make,  but  that  we  (the  clergyman  and  his 
wife  who  accompanied  me)  could  scarcely  have  found  a 
day  in  many  years,  when  they  were  situated  as  they  were 
to-day.  The  Bristol  Fair  is  now  held,  but  we  do  not 
approve  of  fairs,  and  never  allow  our  servants  to  go, — 
Bonaparte's  carriage,  however,  has  been  a  matter  of  great 
curiosity  in  this  family,  and  one  of  iny  sisters  has  gone 
with  four  of  our  servants  (for  we  dare  not  trust  them 
alone)  to  gratify  their  innocent,  though  ridiculous  curiosity, 
and  you  must  receive  it  as  a  particular  mark  of  friendship 
(at  the  same  time  taking  Mrs.  T.'s  hand)  if  we  ask  you 
to  take  a  bit  of  boiled  beef  with  us — but  we  must  wait  on 
ourselves,  and  if,  under  such  circumstances,  you  will  par 
take  with  us,  we  shall  be  happy  to  have  you.' 

"  On  our  fearing  that  to  dine  with  them  would  detain 
us  too  long,  she  kindly  said  we  must  take  some  refresh 
ment.  She  gave  us  cold  mutton,  sliced  with  bread  and 
butter,  and  beer,  all  excellent.  In  the  time  it  was  prepar 
ing,  we  went  over  her  cottage,  which  is  neatly  elegant, 
having  a  beautiful  verandah  in  front,  ornamented  with  a 


248  HANNAH     MORE. 

variety  of  flowers,  and  rose-trees,  in  bloom,  rising  even  to 
the  thatched  roof,  which  covers  this  interesting  dwelling. 
She  showed  us  into  a  '  chamber  for  a  friend,'  commanding 
a  prospect  of  the  whole  of  Wrington  valley,  in  which  are 
situated  twelve  parish  churches,  and  was  the  birth-place  of 
John  Locke,  to  whose  memory  she  has  a  monument  in  her 
garden.  Further  west  may  be  seen  two  islands  in  the 
sea,  about  nine  miles  from  the  shore,  and  she  observed 
that  'their  nearest  market-town  in  the  same  direction  is 
Boston ;  so,'  said  she,  '  when  you  reach  home,  look  east 
ward,  and  think  of  me.' 

"  Miss  More  told  us  the  place  was  much  endeared  to 
them,  from  the  circumstance  of  their  having  planted  every 
tree,  and  shrub,  and  even  laid  the  first  stone  for  building 
their  cottage,  about  thirteen  years  before,  with  their  own 
hands. 

"  She  took  us  to  her  bed-room,  which  is  also  a  library, 
and  pointed  out  the  excellencies  of  almost  every  author,  as 
we  passed  them,  as  familiarly  as  a  parent  could  the  differ 
ent  traits  of  her  children.  Baxter  and  Saurin  were  her 
favorite  authors.  She  admired  the  sublime  words  of  Bax 
ter  on  his  death-bed,  when  asked  by  a  friend  how  he  was, 
he  replied,  opening  his  eyes,  '  Almost  well !'  meaning  he 
should  soon  be  with  Christ  in  Heaven. 


FALLING     LEAVES.  249 

"  Miss  More  was  not  well  enough  to  walk  with  us  over 
her  grounds,  but  on  our  return  to  the  house,  we  enjoyed 
her  delightful  discourse  a  little  longer  in  the  drawing-room. 

"  She  said  much  of  the  evils  of  hoarding  up  wealth,  and 
mentioned  the  death  of  a  friend  the  previous  week,  by  the 
name  of  Renolds,  who  gave  away  his  immense  property, 
restricting  himself  to  bare  necessaries. 

" '  Indeed,'  said  she,  '  an  avaricious  professor  of  religion, 
is  an  anomaly  that  I  cannot  understand.' 

"  Mr.  T.  said  it  was  a  subject  on  which  he  should  preach 
from  his  own  pulpit,  when  he  returned  home. 

" '  Do,'  said  Miss  More,  '  and  take  for  your  text,  But 
thou,  O  man  of  God,  flee  these  things,  Timothy  iv.  llth, 
and  think  of  me.' 

"  Miss  More  mentioned  *  good  news  from  India' — that  a 
Bishop  had  written  that  he  was  then  on  the  sea,  going  to 
another  part  of  his  diocese,  which  was  five  thousand  miles 
in  extent,  and  that  a  Bramin  of  high  caste  was  lately  con 
verted,  entirely  by  his  own  study  of  the  Scriptures  ('  and 
yet  it  is  said,'  she  remarked,  '  this  alone  is  of  no  use'),  and 
that  he,  with  more  than  two  hundred  of  his  caste,  were 
soon  to  be  baptized,  when  he  intended  coming  to  Europe, 
to  a  university. 

"  Her  sister  remarked  '  that  the  evening  before,  Lord 


250  HANNAH     MORE. 

Tinmouth  and  the  Bishop  of  Gloucester  had  visited  them, 
and  that  they  had  sat  conversing  until  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  all  the  time  the  words  went  as  rapidly  from 
one  to  the  other,  as  the  bird  of  a  battle-door.' " 

Is  not  this  a  pleasant  visit  ?  Can  we  not  almost  see 
the  Lady  of  the  Manor  in  her  black  cambric  dress,  and  full 
ruffled  cap  1  But,  oh,  to  hear  her ! 

Meanwhile  Miss  More  was  ready  to  issue  another  work, 
an  essay  to  the  Life  and  Writings  of  St.  Paul — the  first 
edition  of  which  sold  the  first  day,  and  she  has  not  a 
single  copy  to  present  to  her  sisters.  It  is  a  discriminating 
and  beautiful  portrait  of  this  eminent  apostle,  whose  wri 
tings  she  had  studied  with  profound  interest.  Three  years 
had  scarcely  passed  since  the  first  breach  in  the  family 
circle,  when  Elizabeth,  or  Betty,  as  she  was  familiarly 
called,  followed  her  sister  to  the  heavenly  land.  For  many 
years,  the  Bible  had  formed  her  chief  reading,  and  although 
a  natural  reserve  prevented  her  from  speaking  with  free 
dom  of  her  interior  life,  yet 

"  When  faith  and  love,  which  parted  from  her  never, 
Had  ripen'd  her  just  soul  to  dwell  with  God, 
Meekly  did  she  resign  this  earthly  load, 
Of  death,  called  life,  which  us  from  life  doth  sever." 


FALLING     LEAVES.  251 

While  her  works,  her  alms,  and  all  her  good  endeavors 
were  a  rich  legacy  left  in  the  memory  of  her  friends,  to 
recall  her  worth.  Her  loss  was  serious  to  the  family  at 
Bartey  Wood,  for  although  her  influence  was  chiefly  felt 
in  the  interior  arrangement  of  the  household,  no  one  who 
understands  how  many  wheels  there  are  within  a  wheel, 
which  need  to  be  kept  in  harmonious  action  for  a  well- 
regulated  household,  could  undervalue  the  importance  of 
her  position.  Of  diligent  hand  and  pleasant  memory,  a 
large  circle  mourned  her  loss. 

The  year  1816  and  thereabouts,  witnessed  scarcity,  de 
pression  of  business,  and  murmuring  among  the  English 
people.  War  had  burdened  the  treasury,  and  crippled  the 
resources  of  the  nation,  nor  could  the  proclamation  of 
peace  immediately  restore  that  prosperity  and  well-ordered 
industry,  which  are  among  her  chief  blessings.  Discontent 
began  everywhere  to  prevail;  hungry  men  cried  out  for 
reform ;  secret  assemblies  were  holden ;  unpopular  minis 
ters  were  insulted;  pikes  were  manufactured,  and  worse 
than  all,  the  agitation  and  violence  of  the  times  were 
increased,  by  the  circulation  of  a  fresh  batch  of  infidel 
writings,  adding  fuel  to  the  flame.  The  London  committees 
are  again  in  motion :  measures  must  be  taken  to  circulate 
throughout  the  veins  and  arteries  of  society  pure  blood,  or 


252  HANNAH      MORE. 

the  whole  will  be  corrupted  by  the  bad.  Among  the  pub 
lications  of  the  day,  Miss  More's  tracts  and  songs  again 
play  a  distinguished  part.  Will  Chip  re-appeared  upon 
the  stage ;  "  Village  Disputants,"  the  title  having  ^een 
slightly  altered,  rapidly  ran  through  ten  editions.  Her  quiet 
insight  of  just  what  was  necessary,  her  true  woman's  tact, 
which  serves  the  sex  so  well,  often  enabling  them  to  reach 
the  justest  conclusions,  without  a  troublesome  argument, 
caused  a  fresh  demand  upon  her  pen  at  this  time. 

"I  did  not  think  of  turning  ballad-monger  in  my  old 
age,"  she  says,  "  but  the  strong  and  urgent  representations 
which  I- have  had  from  the  highest  quarters  of  the  alarming 
temper  of  the  times,  and  the  spirit  of  revolution  which 
shows  itself  more  or  less  in  all  the  manufacturing  towns, 
led  me  to  undertake  as  a  duty,  a  task  I  would  gladly  have 
avoided." 

She  set  herself  to  work,  and  in  a  few  weeks,  wrote  a 
dozen  penny  and  half-penny  articles,  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  of  which  were  circulated  far  and  wide. 

"  I  fear  the  antidotes  are  not  strong  enough  to  expel  the 
deeply-rooted  poison,"  she  says,  "  but  each  must  do  what 
he  can." 

"  These  are  awful  times,  and  this  tempestuous  weather, 
by  putting  a  stop  to  the  sowing  of  corn,  I  fear  is  preparing 


FALLING     LEAVES.  253 

for  us  another  season  of  scarcity.  But  the  Lord  God 
omnipotent  reigneth  ;  what  consolation  to  be  assured  of 
this !" 

Are  not  here  the  grand  elements  of  patient,  earnest 
doing  in  the  Master's  work  ?  Every  Christian  who  under 
stands  his  relation  to  God  and  his  fellow-men  (and  who 
dares  profess  ignorance  in  this  day  ?)  understands  also  that 
he  has  a  life-work  before  him,  to  do  which,  great  as  the 
work  may  seem,  two  simple  elements  alone  are  necessary, 
— do  what  you  can  in  the  steady  belief  that  God  is  at  the 
helm.  He  demands  your  service,  and  you  need  his  direc 
tion. 

Miss  More  wrote  and  published,  and  re-published  many 
of  her  former  tracts  and  stories,  suited  to  the  present  ex 
igencies,  while  her  hand  was  weak,  and  her  heart  was 
aching  to  behold  the  slow  and  sure  decay  of  her  sister 
Sally,  whose  sprightliness  and  wit  sparkled  even  amid  the 
gathering  ills  of  a  closing  life.  For  many  months  she 
knew  there  was  no  prospect  of  recovery,  neither  could  any 
alleviation  of  the  disease  (dropsy)  be  hoped  for,  and  she 
looked  earnestly  upward  for  those  consolations  which  God 
alone  can  confer  upon  the  soul  in  its  hour  of  extremest 
need.  While  still  below  her  sufferings  were  sometimes  in 
tense,  which  drew  forth  the  frequent  exclamation,  "  Poor 
22 


254  HANNAH      MORE, 

Sally,  you  are  in  dreadful  pain."  "  I  am  indeed,  but  it  is 
well,"  was  her  calm  reply.  Indeed,  so  much  did  she 
enjoy  the  society  of  her  friends,  so  playful  still  was  her 
conversation,  so  quiet  and  patient  her  appearance,  that  few 
could  believe  her  situation  dangerous. 

Though  yet  able  to  stay  in  the  family  sitting-room,  and 
employ  herself  a  little  with  her  work-basket,  she  gave  up 
her  old  seat  at  the  bow-window,  where  she  loved  to  sit 
and  watch  the  spring-flowers,  lest  the  beauties  of  the 
earthly  scene  might  draw  her  away  from  the  frequent  con 
templation  of  the  heavenly.  At  last,  no  longer  able  to 
bear  a  sitting  posture,  she  was  assisted  up  stairs — for  the 
last  time,  she  well  knew :  before  leaving  she  looked  back, 
and  cast  a  parting  glance  about  the  room  :  it  was  a  silent 
and  solemn  farewell :  no  word  was  spoken.  Her  suffer 
ings  greatly  increased,  so  that  with  difficulty  she  could 
restrain  frhe  most  piercing  groans  :  unable  to  hear  any  con 
nected  reading,  Hannah  and  Patty  repeated  detached 
verses  from  the  Bible,  in  which  she  often  joined.  Once, 
when  she  had  lain  long  insensible,  a  favorite  text  was  re 
cited,  when  she  suddenly  exclaimed,  "  Can  anything  *be 
finer  than  that !  it  makes  one's  face  shine !" 

When  life  seemed  nearly  gone,  her  physician  took  her 
by  the  hand,  and  bade  her  good-morning :  lifting  her 


FALLING     LEAVES.  255 

hands  in  holy  transport,  she  said,  "  Oh !  for  the  glorious 
morning  of  the  resurrection  !  but  there  are  some  gray 
clouds  between." 

Her  ejaculations  all  betokened  a  trusting  and  believing 
heart.  "Oh!  the  blood  of  Christ!  He  died  for  me! 
God  was  man !  Talk  of  the  cross,  the  precious  cross,  the 
King  of  Love !" 

"  Blessed  Jesus"  were  the  last  words  which  dwelt  upon 
her  lips.  "Four  months,"  writes  Hannah  to  Mrs.  Ken- 
nicott,  "  we  have  watched  over  her  increasing  disease. 
Poor  Patty  and  I  watched  over  this  bed  of  suffering,  but 
our  distress  was  mingled  with  much  consolation.  I  cannot 
do  justice  to  her  humility,  her  patience,  her  submission. 
It  was  sometimes  more  than  resignation,  it  was  a  spiritual 
triumph  over  the  suffering  of  her  tormented  body.  She 
often  said,  *  I  have  never  prayed  for  recovery,  but  pardon. 
I  do  not  fear  death,  but  sin.' 

"  My  three  sisters  have  quitted  the  world  in  the  same 
order  of  succession  as  they  entered  it.  My  turn,  in  course, 
would  be  next.  Pray  for  me  that  I  may  do  and  suffer  the 
whole  will  of  God." 

A  friend  who  visited  Barley  Wood  after  the  last  sad 
bereavement,  writes  thus  of  the  remaining  two  sisters : 
"  Feeling  as  they  do,  very  deeply,  the  sad  breach  made  in 


256  HANNAH     MORE. 

tbeir  circle,  they  are  wisely,  cheerfully,  and  piously  sub 
missive  to  this  appointment  of  Providence  :  and  neither 
their  talents  nor  their  vivacity  are  in  the  least  subdued.  I 
am  disposed  to  believe  that  they  will  be  blessed  to  the  last 
with  the  retention  of  those  faculties  which  they  have  em 
ployed  so  well.  With  Patty  I  had  a  long  and  interesting 
-conversation.  This  interesting  woman  is  suffering  with  ex 
emplary  patience  the  greatest  pain  :  not  a  murmur  escapes 
her,  though  at  night  especially  groans  and  cries  are  inevi 
tably  extorted,  and  the  moment  after  the  paroxysm,  she  is 
ready  to  resume  with  full  interest  and  animation,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  subject  of  conversation.  Hannah  is 
still  herself.  She  took  the  Rev.  Charles  Forster  and  me  to 
drive  to  Brockley  Combe  :  in  the  course  of  which  her 
anecdotes,  her  wit,  her  powers  of  criticism,  and  her  ad 
mirable  talent  at  recitation,  had  ample  scope." 

How  serene  and  beautiful  is  this  picture!  We  forget 
that  old  age  and  sickness  are  there, — old  age  and  sickness 
BO  repulsive  to  the  eye  of  blooming  and  buoyant  youth, 
so  uninteresting  and  unattractive  to  the  busy  and  bustling 
of  middle  life.  Hannah  is  seventy-three,  and  Patty  is  an 
invalid,  so,  when  Sally  died,  who  cared  for  the  flowers, 
"  The  garden  will  be  neglected,"  said  some,  "  there  is  no 
one  left  to  do  like  Sallv  !"  Ah  !  no  :  Hannah  went  out  to 


FALLING     LEAVES.  257 

meet  the  spring  flowers ;  she  gathered  the  roses  and  bound 
up  the  honeysuckles,  and  the  garden  bloomed  as  sweetly 
as  it  used  to :  so  the  soul  sometimes  seems  to  renew  its 
youth. 

22* 


CHAPTER    XV. 


Miss  MORE  sits  at  her  desk  correcting  the  fifteenth 
edition  of  Celebs,  and  the  eleventh  of  Practical  Piety.  She 
speaks  thus,  "  In  spite  of  the  dull  task  of  reforming  points 
and  particles,  I  found  the  revisal  of  the  last  especially  a 
salutary  and  mortifying  employment.  How  easy  it  is  to 
be  good  upon  paper  !  I  felt  myself  humbled,  even  to  a 
sense  of  hypocrisy,  to  observe  (for  I  had  forgotten  the 
book)  how  very  far  short  I  had  fallen  of  the  habits,  and 
principles,  and  interior  sanctity,  which  I  had  found  it  so 
easy  to  recommend  to  others.  I  hardly  read  a  page  which 
did  not  carry  some  reproach  to  my  own  heart.  I  frequently 
think  of  a  line  which  Prior  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Sol 
omon, 

'  They  brought  my  Proverbs  to  confute  my  life.'  " 
"  Celebs  in  search  of  a  Wife"  had  now  been  before  the 


GOLDEN     HARVEST.  259 

public  about  ten  years,  and  its  rapid  sale  both  in  England 
and  the  United  States  testified  its  great  popularity.  The 
author's  profits  for  the  first  year  amounted  to  ten  thousand 
dollars :  a  reward,  as  it  were,  for  the  exercise  of  her 
talents,  under  severe  and  protracted  bodily  suffering. 
"  Never  was  more  pain  bound  up  in  two  volumes,"  she 
said.  The  work  contains  a  beautiful  portrait  of  woman  as 
she  should  be,  and  we  only  wish  there  were  more  Lucillas 
for  the  inquiring  Celebses  of  our  own  day :  were  there 
more  like  Celebs,  there  possibly  might  be  more  Lucillas,  if, 
as  in  trade,  the  demand  creates  a  supply :  certain  it  is, 
that  men  in  search  of  wives  often  strangely  overlook  those 
traits  of  character  and  principles  of  action  most  necessary 
to  the  happiness  of  married  life,  while  beauty,  wealth,  or 
accomplishment  possess  a  market  value  greatly  beyond 
their  real  worth.  It  is  curious  to  see  how  many  incon 
siderate  marriages  take  place  every  year  within  one's  own 
observation  :  how  puzzled  many  a  man  and  woman  would 
be  in  answering  the  single  inquiry,  "  What  do  you  want  in 
a  wife  ?"  "  What  kind  of  a  husband  will  you  have  ?"  The 
hastiness  and  inconsideration  with  which  so  many  enter  into 
this  most  important  and  serious  relation  is  one  great  cause 
of  the  indifference  and  disappointment  which,  oftener  than 


260  HANNAH     MORE. 

\ve  are  generally  aware,  clouds  and  sours  the  married  life 
of  multitudes. 

We  would  advise  young  men  to  read  Celebs  :  they 
would  learn  from  it  some  capital  hints,  excellent  advice, 
and  reliable  principles,  to  guide  them  in  that  perplexing 
and  anxious  search,  which  may  lead  to  the  greatest  earthly 
happiness,  or  the  bitterest  earthly  sorrow. 

Dr.  Henderson,  the  charming  tourist  of  Iceland,  found 
Celebs  enlivening  the  long  evenings  of  many  a  circle  in 
that  ice-bound  region ;  Swedish  youths  learned  from  it 
lessons  of  wisdom ;  it  was  translated  into  French  and  Ger 
man  :  and  may  it  not  be  hoped  that  young  men  and 
maidens,  and  the  newly  married,  became  wiser  and  better 
for  having  read  it. 

Nor  was  Russia  impenetrable  to  her  influence.  The 
"  Shepherd  of  Salisbury  Plain,"  with  "  Charles  the  Foot 
man,"  and  several  of  their  excellent  companions,  made  an 
extensive  circuit  throughout  that  empire ;  and  she  received 
the  assurance  from  a  pious  Russian  Princess,  that  they 
were  opening  the  way  for  other  works  of  a  kindred  char 
acter. 

India  also  reaped  the  benefit  of  her  labors.  Portions 
of  "  Moses  in  the  Bulrushes"  were  presented  to  Miss  More, 
written  in  Cingalese  on  the  Palmyra  leaf,  and  many  of  her 


GOLDEN     HARVEST.  261 

writings  were  translated  both  in  Tamul  and  Cingalese. 
Sir  Alexander  Johnstone,  Chief  Justice  of  Ceylon,  on  his 
return  to  England,  visited  Barley  Wood,  to  assure  her  of 
the  interest  which  they  excited  among  the  natives,  and  to 
bespeak  a  poem  from  her  gifted  pen,  to  be  sung  on  the  an 
niversary  of  the  abolition  of  domestic  slavery  on  that 
island.  Servitude  existed  among  the  Dutch  settlers  of 
Ceylon,  when  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English,  who  at 
the  time,  guaranteed  to  all  the  inhabitants  their  rights  of 
private  property ;  nor  were  they  willing  to  relinquish  this 
among  the  rest,  until  Sir  Alexander  having  secured  to 
them  some  important  privileges  from  the  English  govern 
ment,  in  gratitude  to  him,  they  resolved,  that  all  children 
born  of  their  slaves  after  the  12th  of  August,  1816,  should 
become  free.  Miss  More  wrote  a  little  dramatic  poem, 
called  the  "  Feast  of  Freedom,''  which  was  translated  into 
the  native  language,  by  two  young  priests,  then  receiving 
an  English  education  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Adam  Clarke. 
The  "  Feast  of  Freedom"  became  a  great  favorite  in  Ceylon, 
the  following  extract  of  which  gives  utterance,  through  the 
mouth  of  Sabat,  holding  in  his  hand  the  Word  of  God,  to 
the  sound  and  healthy  sentiments  which  fill  the  whole  piece: 

"  This  is  the  boon  which  England  sends, 
It  breaks  the  chain  of  sin : 


262  HANNAH      MORE. 

Oh,  blest  exchange  for  fragrant  groves ! 
Oh,  barter  most  divine  ! 

It  yields  a  trade  of  noblest  gain, 

While  other  trades  may  miss  ; 
A  few  short  years  of  care  and  pain, 

For  endless,  perfect  bliss. 

This  shows  us  freedom  how  to  use, 

To  love  our  daily  labor ; 
Forbids  our  time  in  sloth  to  lose, 

Or  riot  with  our  neighbor. 
• 

Then  let  our  masters  gladly  find 

A  free  man  works  the  faster : 
Who  serves  his  God  with  heart  and  mind, 

Will  better  serve  his  master." 

"  What  a  pleasure  must  it  afford  you,  my  dear  Madam," 
wrote  the  chief  justice  to  the  author,  "  to  have  the  power 
of  producing  such  moral  improvement  by  your  writings, 
not  only  throughout  Europe,  but  throughout  Asia  also  ! 
For  I  am  convinced  that  your  writings  have  had  a  greater 
effect,  and  have  been  more  generally  read,  than  any  other 
works  which  have  been  written  for  the  last  hundred 
years." 


GOLDEN     HARVEST.  263 

The  next  pilgrims  to  Barley  Wood,  Miss  More  says,  "  are 
two  very  interesting  and  sensible  Persians,  who  have  been 
studying  the  literature,  arts,  and  sciences  of  this  country, 
and  are  returning  home  with  great  acquisitions  of  knowl 
edge.  I  never  saw  any  Asiatics  before  who  had  energy, 
spirit,  and  curiosity  :  these  are  all  alive.  In  my  garden  is 
an  urn  to  the  memory  of  Locke,  who  was  born  in  our  vil 
lage  ;  when  they  saw  it,  they  exclaimed  in  rapture, 
'  What !  Locke  the  metaphysician  !'  They  go  to  our  dif 
ferent  places  of  worship,  attend  Bible,  and  other  public 
meetings,  and  seem  to  have  fewer  prejudices  against  Chris 
tianity  than  you  would  suppose.  They  particularly  admire 
Job  and  Isaiah,  and  those  parts  of  the  Old  Testament 
which  have  the  most  orientalism.  Their  figures  and  cos 
tume  are  striking,  their  manners  very  genteel.  I  was 
amused  to  see  the  Mohammedans  drink  a  little  wine.  The 
most  literary  of  the  two  wished  to  have  something  of  mine 
as  a  memento.  I  gave  him  Practical  Piety,  which  he  said 
he  would  translate  when  he  got  home." 

The  formation  and  growth  of  the  religious  institutions 
which  have  so  distinctly  marked  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century  was  a  source  of  unspeakable  gratitude 
to  Hannah  More ; — And  "  I  sometimes  regret,  foolishly 
enough,"  she  said,  "  that  some  of  my  earliest  and  dearest 


264  HANNAH      MORE. 

friends  did  not  live  to  promote  and  rejoice  in  the  wonderful 
prosperity  of  such  as  each  particularly  delighted  in.  Dean 
Tucker,  Dr.  Kennicott,  and  Bishop  Home  would  have  been 
among  the  most  zealous  supporters  of  the  conversion  of  the 
Jews,  as  Dr.  Johnson  would  of  the  Slave  abolition  and 
the  Bible  and  Missionary  societies.  Bishop  Porte  us  would 
have  rejoiced  in  the  prosperity  of  all.  To  descend  to  so 
poor  a  thing  as  myself  and  my  writings,  the  gratification  I 
feel  in  that  measure  of  success  which  it  has  pleased  God  to 
grant  unworthy  me,  when  so  many  abler  and  better  per 
sons  have  been  neglected,  is  much  diminished  by  the  loss 
of  the  above-named,  and  many  others,  who  would  have 
taken  a  warmer  interest  in  what  concerned  me  than  I  de 
served,  and  that  from  partial  kindness.  But  all  this  is 
necessary,  salutary,  and  right." 

In  the  spring  of  1818,  both  sisters  were,  so  much  shat 
tered  by  sickness,  that  friends  suspended  their  accustomed 
visits  to  Barley  Wood,  and  left  the  invalids  to  that  undis 
turbed  repose,  which  they  greatly  needed.  Its  benefits 
upon  the  eldest  were  soon  apparent ;  both  mind  and  body 
were  improved,  and  she,  under  that  abiding  sense  of 
"  doing  with  her  might,"  immediately  began  and  prepared 
a  small  work,  containing  twelve  short  papers  or  essays 
called,  "Moral  Sketches  of  Prevailing  Opinions  and  Man- 


GOLDEN     HAEVEST.  265 

ners,  Foreign  and  Domestic,"  to  which  were  added  her 
"  Reflections  on  Prayer,"  so  deservedly  known  and  admired 
in  this  country. 

The  first  edition  sold  on  the  first  day,  and  realized  fifteen 
thousand  dollars. 

In  spite  of  the  great  popularity  and  excellent  tendency 
of  her  writings,  Miss  More  seems  ever  to  have  made  a  low 
estimate  of  her  merits,  declaring  on  one  occasion  "  that  the 
only  remarkable  thing  which  belonged  to  her  as  an  author 
was,  that  she  had  written  eleven  books  after  the  age  of 
sixty." 

The  attachment  of  the  two  surviving  sisters  was  most 
tender  and  true  ;  they  had  lived  much  together ;  their 
Sunday  labors  had  been  equally  shared ;  they  loved  the 
same  things,  and  in  company  had  visited  often  and  again 
the  same  places ;  the  "  sweet  sense  of  kindred"  had  been 
strengthened  by  the  hallowed  associations  of  a  long  and 
endeared  partnership  in  every  good  word  and  work,  and 
now  they  two  were  all  that  were  left  to  love  of  the  happy 
band  that  once  sported  over  the  green  at  the  Dominie's 
door,  in  old  Stapleton.  How  honored  a  household !  Blest 
were  they  among  women. 

As  months  and  years  passed  by,  each  were  admonished, 
that  frail  was  her  hold  on  life  ;  and  each  sought  to  live  in 

23 


266  HANNAH     MORE. 

a  state  of  constant  preparation  for  the  last  summons.  Miss 
Patty  wrote  in  her  account-book,  "  This  is  the  last  I  shall 
ever  want ;"  and  every  scrap  of  paper  in  her  desk,  bore  record 
of  a  willing  and  waiting  spirit :  yet  "  she  is  eyes,  and  hands, 
and  feet,"  to  Hannah,  who  might  well  exclaim,  "  How  can 
I  give  thee  up  !" 

The  Wilberforces  made  a  short  sojourn  to  Barley  Wood 
in  the  early  part  of  September,  1819,  sure  of  a  warm 
and  friendly  welcome  from  Miss  Hannah,  even  on  a  sick 
bed,  and  from  Miss  Patty,  animated  and  full  of  spirits  as 
could  be,  it  being  a  difficult  thing  to  imagine  her  long 
either  crushed  or  cowed  by  bodily  infirmity.  On  the  last 
day  of  their  visit,  Patty  accompanied  them  to  dear  old 
Cheddar,  Brockly  Combe,  and  among  the  green  winding 
ways  of  the  region,  and  then  remained  up  long  after 
her  usual  time,  talking  over  Hannah's  first  introduction  to 
London,  with  all  her  wonted  animation.  It  was  late  when 
she  came  to  her  sister's  bedside,  to  say  good-night,  "  Our 
Wilberforce  and  I  have  had  such  a  nice  hour's  chat,"  said 
she,  cheerfully.  A  few  hours  later  and  she  awoke  in  the 
pangs  of  death.  "  Oh,  I  love  my  sufferings,"  she  ex 
claimed  ;  "  they  come  from  God,  and  I  love  everything 
which  comes  from  him." 

Whenever  the  mind  wandered,  the  ruling  passion,  strong 


a OLD EN     HARVEST.  267 

in  death,  issued  its  orders  like  these,  "  Be  sure  let  that  old 
woman  have  her  shoes,"  "  Do  not  forget  the  old  man's 
clothes," — intent  still  upon  those  objects  which  had  formed 
her  chief  interest  and  daily  business  of  many  years. 

"I  have  lost,"  said  the  stricken  survivor,  "  my  chief 
earthly  comfort,  companion,  counsellor,  and  fellow-laborer. 
I  need  not  tell  you  that  my  grief  is  exquisite.  God  doubt 
less  saw  that  I  leaned  too  much  on  this  weak  prop,  and 
therefore  in  mercy  withdrew  it,  that  I  might  depend  more 
exclusively  on  himself.  When  I  consider  how  infinitely 
greater  her  gain  is  than  my  loss,  I  am  ashamed  of  my 
weakness.  I  can  truly  say,  however,  that  it  has  not  been 
mixed  with  one  murmuring  thought — I  kiss  the  rod  and 
adore  the  hand,  that  employs  it.  I  do  not  so  much  brood 
over  my  loss  as  over  the  many  mercies  which  accompany 
it.  I  bless  God  that  she  was  spared  to  me  so  long ;  that 
her  last  trial,  though  sharp,  was  short ;  that  she  is  spared 
feeling  for  me,  what  I  now  feel  for  her,  and  though  I  must 
finish  my  journey  alone,  yet  it  is  a  very  short  portion  of 
my  pilgrimage  which  remains  to  be  accomplished." 

"  In  our  numerous  charity  schools,  she  had  exerted  her 
self  for  thirty-two  years  with  the  most  unwearied  perse 
verance,"  wrote  Miss  More,  "  and  I  may  be  allowed  to  add 
(now  she  is  gone)  with  great  success  in  training  up  num- 


268  HANNAH     MORE. 

bers  of  useful  members  of  the  community  and  many  souls 
for  heaven.  Never  was  any  private  individual  more  lamen 
ted.  Our  poor  gardener  said  'she  had  made  as  many 
garments  for  the  poor  as  Dorcas,  and  had  as  many  tears 
shed  over  her  death-bed.'  Several  funeral  sermons  were 
preached  for  her  in  the  neighborhood,  and  our  neighbors 
have  put  on  mourning." 

Almost  every  day  used  to  come  messages  or  applica 
tions  to  Barley  Wood,  from  the  poor,  or  sick  or  needy  of 
the  surrounding  parishes,  in  quest  of  relief  and  sympathy, 
found  always  within  its  friendly  gates.  For  several  weeks 
after  Miss  Patty's  death,  no  one  of  them  knocked  at  the 
door,  or  came  near  the  house.  At  last,  the  schoolmaster 
of  Shipham  with  his  donkey  and  panniers  came  to  receive 
his  stated  supply  of  books  for  the  schools.  "  It  is  very 
long  since  we  have  seen  any  of  you,"  said  Miss  Hannah. 
"Why,  madam,  they  be  so  cut  up,  they  have  not  the  heart 
to  come,"  answered  the  old  man  mournfully. 

Letters  of  sympathy,  affection,  and  condolence  came  in 
upon  the  mourner  from  all  quarters,  and  friends  flocked 
around,  to  relieve  by  their  kind  offices  that  void  which 
none  again  could  fill :  nor  does  she  turn  aside  from  these 
lesser  alleviations,  which  may  come  upon  the  parched  soul 
like  the  soft  and  refreshing  fall  of  the  summer  dew. 


GOLDEN     HARVEST.  269 

"  Many  people  under  a  similar  affliction  are  apt  to  say, 
that  it  is  of  too  deep  a  nature  to  admit  of  consolation 
from  the  sympathy  of  friends.  I  am  not  of  their  opinion," 
said  this  honored  disciple.  "I  feel  the  sympathy  of  kind 
and  Christian  friends  very  soothing  to  my  mind,  and  T 
bless  God  for  affording  me  in  his  mercy  and  goodness, 
such  a  source  of  comfort." 

The  withered  branch  will  not  long  survive, — so  thought 
and  feared  the  friends  who  waited  and  watched  around 
her.  During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1820,  she  seemed 
gradually  wasting  beneath  the  repeated  and  violent  seizures 
of  her  old  complaint — speaking  of  her  burning  fever, 
"Nothing  but  the  last  icy  hand  will  cool  me,"  said  she. 
"  Poor  Patty,  I  shall  soon  join  her.  I  hope  I  shall  feel  the 
same  patience  and  submission  as  dear  Patty  did.  I  have 
great  comfort  and  quietness  in  my  mind." 

"I  have  never  known,"  she  said  to  a  clerical  friend, 
"  much  of  those  triumphs,  which  I  hear  of,  but  I  have  never 
been  destitute  of  consolation,  trust,  and  reliance — not  that 
unauthorized  calmness,  which  some  deem  to  be  always  a 
symptom  of  peace  to  the  soul." 

"  You  have  been  a  blessing  to  the  world,"  spake  one 
near  her. 

"  No,  mine  has  been  but  a  poor  little  way — I  have  done 
23* 


270  HANNAH      MOKE. 

nothing,  I  could  do  nothing.  The  righteousness,  mercies, 
and  merits  of  Christ  are  all  in  all." 

"  How  long,  oh  Lord,  how  long,"  she  exclaimed,  in  the 
extremity  of  her  suffering. 

"  If  you  need  all  this,  madam,"  said  one  of  her  attend 
ants,  "  we  may  be  well  filled  with  dismay." 

"  The  blood  of  Christ  is  sufficient :  there  is  no  acceptance 
for  the  best  without  it,  and  with  it,  the  worst  need  not  fear 
obtaining  pardon  and  salvation  upon  repentance,  but  it 
must  be  profound  heart-repentance" 

Months  of  suffering  passed  over  her,  testing  the  sincerity 
and  the  unspeakable  value  of  her  Christian  faith ;  her 
resignation  in  sorrow,  her  patience  in  sickness,  her  forgive 
ness  of  injuries,  afforded  a  most  eloquent  commentary 
upon  the  blessed  doctrines  which  it  was  ever  the  aim  of 
her  writings  to  enforce.  But  God  was  graciously  pleased 
to  raise  up  this  aged  servant,  and  again  restore  to  her  a 
comfortable  measure  of  health. 

In  the  worst  of  her  illness,  Cadell  wrote  to  entreat  her 
to  prepare  a  preface  for  a  new  edition  of  "  Moral  Sketches," 
with  a  short  tribute  to  our  lamented  king.  "My  friend 
wrote  him  word  it  was  utterly  impossible,"  she  related 
afterwards,  "  that  I  might  as  well  attempt  to  fly  as  to  write. 
A  week  after,  supposing  me  to  be  better,  he  again  renewed 


GOLDEN     H  Ait  VEST.  2Yl 

his  entreaty.  I  was  not  better,  but  worse.  I  fancied,  how 
ever,  that  what  was  difficult  might  not  be  impossible.  So 
having  got  everybody  out  of  the  way,  I  furnished  myself 
with  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  which  I  concealed  in  my  bed, 
and  next  morning  in  a  high  fever,  with  my  pulse  above  a 
hundred,  without  having  formed  one  thought,  bolstered 
up,  I  began  to  scribble.  I  got  on  about  seven  pages,  my 
hand  being  almost  as  incompetent  as  my  head.  I  hid  my 
scrawl,  and  said  not  a  word,  while  my  doctor  and  my 
friend  wondered  at  my  increased  debility.  After  a  strong 
opiate,  I  next  morning  returned  to  my  task  of  seven  pages 
more,  and  delivered  uiy  almost  illegible  papers  to  my 
friend  to  transcribe  and  send  away.  I  got  well  scolded, 
but  I  loved  the  king,  and  was  carried  through  by  a  sort 
of  affectionate  impulse ;  so  it  stands  as  a  preface  to  the 
seventh  edition.  You  will  be  as  much  surprised  as  myself 
that  this  slight  word  should  have  made  its  way  so  rapidly 
in  these  distracted  times,  which,  the  bookseller  tells  me, 
has  been  the  most  unfavorable  to  literature  that  they  have 
ever  known.  The  preface  is  such  a  meagre  performance 
as  you  would  expect  from  the  writer,  and  the  strange 
circumstances  of  the  writing." 

Neither  sickness  nor  sorrow  seemed  to  subdue  the  won- 


272  HANNAH      MORE. 

derful  elasticity  of  her  mind,  ever  alert  to  the  call  of  duty, 
pressing  into  the  service  a  week  and  suffering  frame. 

Having  been  called  upon  to  make  some  arrangements 
which  anticipated  the  future,  she  added,  "  Not  that  I  have 
the  remotest  idea  of  living  through  the  winter,  but  we 
must  plan  for  time,  and  prepare  for  eternity." 

"  I  often  think,"  she  said  one  day,  "  that  we  are  not 
thankful  enough  for  negative  mercies.  I  have  often  felt 
grateful  that  I  have  never  been  confined  in  a  mad-house,  a 
prison,  or  a  court." 

Thus  her  lips  dropped  manna.  While  slowly  regaining 
strength,  unable  to  endure  either  much  company  or  great 
fatigue,  she  relieved  the  monotony  of  her  confinement  by 
composing  "  Bible  Rhymes,"  pleasant  little  verses  for  the 
young,  for  whose  welfare  she  was  always  tenderly  con 
cerned. 

"  People  are  too  apt  at  an  advanced  age,"  she  remarked, 
"  to  imagine,  because  they  were  able  to  do  but  little,  they 
were  exempted  from  doing  anything ;  but  our  work  is 
never  finished  while  we  are  on  earth,  and  when  we  have 
but  one  talent  left,  we  must  strive  to  the  last  to  make  the 
most  of  it." 

Narrow  as  her  sphere  of  active  usefulness  had  neces 
sarily  become,  she  is  not  content  to  live  upon  her  past 


GOLDEN     HARVEST.  273 

greatness,  but  with  diligent  hand  still   busies  herself  in 
humbler  works,  which  interest,  but  not  o'ertask. 

"  I  can  find  sufficient  employment,  which,  if  not  splen 
did,  is  not  quite  useless,"  she  writes  to  an  old  friend.  "  At 
Bristol,  Clifton,  and  Bath,  they  have  an  annual  bazaar  for 
the  different  charitable  societies,  which,  by  means  of  con 
tributions  of  ladies'  different  work,  produces  a  good  deal 
of  money.  You  will  say,  that  in  my  old  age,  I  am 
brought  so  low  as  to  write  half-penny  papers.  Every  year 
I  write  some  such  trifle.  The  ladies  who  conduct  the 
bazaars  in  the  different  places,  get  these  paltry  papers 
printed  sometimes  on  colored  papers,  and  by  selling  them 
for  a  shilling,  £20  have  been  collected  in  a  year.  I  spend 
all  my  leisure  in  knitting  garters  and  muffatees,  a  little 
decorated  ;  these,  by  the  lady-customers  giving  five  times 
more  than  they  are  worth,  bring  in  the  year  no  contempt 
ible  sum." 

No  one,  perhaps,  ever  set  more  value  on  her  time  than 
did  Hannah  More,  or  how  else  could  she  have  accom 
plished  so  much,  with  the  various  hindrances  which  sick 
ness  and  society  threw  in  her  way  ? 

"  What  a  large  portion  of  time  may  be  improvidently 
squandered !"  she  remarks ;  "  what  days  and  nights  may 
be  suffered  to  waste  themselves,  if  not  criminally,  yet  in- 


274  HANNAH     MORE. 

considerately, — if  not  loaded  with  evil,  yet  destitute  of 
good, — how  much  consumed  in  worthless  employments, 
frivolous  amusements,  listless  indolence,  idle  reading,  and 
vain  imaginations, — and  one  can  never  make  a  right  use 
of  time,  who  turns  it  over  to  chance,  or  who  lives  without 
any  definite  scheme  for  its  employment,  or  any  fixed  object 
for  its  end." 

Let  the  young  Christian  ponder  this  : 

"  Your  time  may  be  your  greatest  talent ; 

What  wilt  thou  say  in  heaven, 
When  the  Master  asks,  what  hast  thou  done 
With  the  talent  I  have  given  ?" 

Upon  this  subject  she  again  speaks.     Let  us  take  heed. 

"  Through  the  unwearied  kindness  of  more  Christian 
friends  than  any  other  unworthy  creature  was  ever  blessed, 
I  see  through  '  my  loop-hole  of  retreat,'  or  rather  hear  of 
whatever  interesting  is  going  on.  My  conclusion  is,  that 
wickedness  is  wickeder  than  it  used  to  be,  and  that  good 
ness  is  better.  Religion  certainly  has  increased  much 
among  the  higher  classes  in  England,  and  perhaps  still 
more  in  Ireland.  Yet  I  will  still  venture  to  say,  even  to 
the  religious  world,  '  I  have  a  few  things  against  thee.' 

"  With  no  small  number  of  happy  exceptions,  I  cannot 


GOLDEJS      HARVEST.  275 

help  observing  the  common  fault  of  good  people, — the 
misappropriation  of  time.  I  will  only  instance  two  par 
ticulars  of  the  evil,  of  which  they  do  not  seem  to  me  to  be 
sufficiently  aware, — music  and  light  reading.  Twenty 
years  ago,  when  I  wrote  '  Strictures  on  Female  Education,' 
Bishop  Cleaves,  of  St.  Asaph,  was  at  Bath.  He  was  much 
attached  to  me,  though  we  differed  on  many  points.  Talk 
ing  on  this  subject,  he  was  so  much  of  my  opinion,  that 
he  wrote  the  following  statement,  which  I  inserted  in  a  note 
in  the  first  volume  :—  -'  Suppose  your  pupil  to  begin  music 
at  six  years  of  age,  and  to  continue  the  average  of  four 
hours  a  day  at  her  instrument  (a  very  low  calculation)? 
Sundays  excepted,  till  she  is  eighteen,  the  statement  stands 
thus — three  hundred  days  multiplied  by  four,  the  number 
of  hours  amounts  to  twelve  hundred  ;  this  multiplied  by 
twelve,  which  is  the  number  of  years,  amounts  to  fourteen 
thousand  four  hundred  hours  !'  I  come  now  to  the  read 
ing.  I  pass  over  Byron  and  his  compeers  in  sin  and  in 
famy,  though  I  have  known  some  good  people  who  now 
and  then  take  a  slice  even  of  this  highly  seasoned  cor 
ruption.  I  pass  over  the  more  loose  and  amatory  novels, 
and  take  my  stand  on  what  is  said  to  be  safe  ground — the 
novels  of  that  unparalleled  genius,  Walter  Scott.  Now,  I 
would  not  have  it  supposed,  that  I  have  not  read  with  de- 


276  HANNAH     MORE. 

light  and  admiration,  all  his  poetry.  This  is  a  repast  that 
might  be  taken  with  safety,  though  certainly  not  with 
profit,  for  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  another  specimen  of 
such  admirable  works  with  so  few  maxims  for  the  improve 
ment  of  life  and  manners.  Let  that  pass  ;  they  gratify  the 
taste,  without  vitiating  the  imagination  ;  add  to  this,  they 
were  written  at  reasonably  distant  periods  from  each  other, 
so  that  we  were  refreshed  without  being  crammed.  We 
come  now  to  his  novels,  in  which  his  fecundity  is  as  mar 
vellous  as  his  invention.  I  have  read  one  volume  and  a 
half,  in  which  the  powers  of  his  vigorous  and  versatile 
mind  were  conspicuous ;  but  from  what  I  have  since  read 
in  reviews,  I  rather  see  the  absence  of  much  evil  than  the 
presence  of  much  good.  I,  of  all  people,  ought  not  to  find 
fault  with  authors  for  writing  too  much  ;  yet  I  must  return 
to  my  first  position,  the  misapplication  of  time.  Had  he 
written  before  the  flood,  when  perhaps  there  were  not  so 
many  books  in  the  world  as  he  has  introduced  into  it,  all 
would  have  been  well ;  he  would  have  been  a  benefactor 
to  the  antediluvian  Hilpahs  and  Zylpahs.  A  life  of  eight 
hundred  years  might  be  allowed  the  perusal  of  the  whole 
of  his  volumes  ;  a  proportionate  quantity  in  each  century 
would  have  been  delightful ;  but  for  our  poor  scanty  three 
score  years  and  ten,  it  is  too  much.  Nay,  I  underestimate 


GOLDEN     HARVEST.  277 

the  chronology ;  I  believe  they  have  all  been  produced  nearly 
in  odd  ten  years.  Now,  I  readily  grant,  that  to  the  mass 
of  readers  the  reading  of  these  works  should  not  be  pro 
hibited.  To  the  gay,  the  worldly,  and  the  dissipated,  it  is 
perhaps  as  safe,  and  even  more  safe,  than  any  of  their 
other  pleasurable  resources,  being  often  their  only  intel 
lectual  one.  The  strong  sense,  lively  exhibition  of  char 
acter,  and  animated  style,  certainly  afford  aliment  to  the 
mind.  My  remarks  are  limited  to  a  certain  class  of  readers, 
who  have  made  a  strict  profession  of  religion.  If,  indeed, 
our  time  is  to  be  accounted  for  as  scrupulously  as  the  other 
talents  committed  to  us,  how  will  their  reckoning  stand  ? 
In  the  case  of  some,  it  is  almost  the  only  talent  they  have. 
Such  ought  to  be  especially  careful  that  this  one  be  rightly 
employed,  as  we  have  an  awful  lesson  on  the  danger  of  un 
profitableness." 

Are  not  here  important  suggestions  for  those  who  have 
the  training  of  youth  ?  Is  there  not  too  much  time  literally 
wasted  at  the  piano,  which  might  and  ought  to  be  spent 
in  making  acquisitions  that  will  furnish  ideas  to  the  head, 
or  useful  employment  to  the  hands  ?  To  how  many  chil 
dren  is  a  music  lesson  a  hated  task.  Why  should  fashion 
usurp  the  place  of  sense  in  this  matter  ?  Why  should  not 
our  girls  be  taught  those  things,  which  they  will  most  need 

24 


278  HANNAH      MORE. 

to  know  if  they  grow  up  to  become  wives  and  mothers, 
and  heads  of  families  ?  Let  Christian  parents  consider  well 
this  most  important  subject. 

On  October  22,  1822,  Miss  More  writes  to  a  friend, 
"  I  was  much  affected  yesterday  with  a  report  of  the  death 
of  my  ancient  and  valued  friend  Mrs.  Garrick.  She  was  in 
her  hundredth  year  !  I  spent  above  twenty  winters  under 
her  roof,  and  gratefully  remember,  not  only  their  personal 
kindness,  but  my  first  introduction  through  them  into  a 
society  remarkable  for  rank,  literature,  and  talent." 

Behold  her  now  working  for  us,  our  own  American 
Board. 

"  A  drawing  of  my  little  habitation  having  found  its 
way  to  New  York,  they  have  made  a  very  good  engraving 
of  it,  which  their  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  is  selling ;  and 
they  are  sanguine  enough  to  expect  the  sale  will  enable 
them  to  build  a  school  in  the  distant  island  of  Ceylon,  for 
poor  girls,  which  they  intend  doing  me  the  honor  of 
calling  Barley  Wood."  A  smile  of  gratification  steals  over 
her  countenance. 

"  I  find  a  good  deal  of  time  to  work  with  my  hands, 
while  Miss  Frowd  reads  for  the  entertainment  of  my  head" 
she  adds  a  while  after  ;  "  and  the  learned  labors  of  my 


GOLDEN     HARVEST.  279 

knitting-needle  are  now  amassing  to  be  sent  to  America 
for  the  Barley  Wood  school  at  Ceylon — so  you  see  I  am 
still  good  for  something." 

The  history  of  this  school  is  thus :  the  plan  of  a  girl's 
school  in  Ceylon  was  suggested  to  a  lady  in  Massachusetts 
by  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Woodward,  missionary  of 
the  American  Board,  at  Ceylon,  addressed  to  the  Society 
of  Inquiry,  at  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  in  which 
he  mentioned  that  associations  of  ladies  might  be  formed 
in  America,  to  build  school-houses  for  girls,  which  would 
cost  about  thirty  dollars,  each  school  bearing  the  name  of 
the  association  which  supported  it. 

"I  had  just  then,"  says  the  lady,  "received  a  print  of 
Barley  Wood  from  a  relation  in  England  ;  finding  it  much 
admired  and  many  wishing  to  possess  a  copy,  I  united 
with  a  friend,  who  like  myself  was  gratuitously  collecting 
funds  for  the  Board,  in  the  risk  of  having  the  print  en 
graved  for  the  benefit  of  Foreign  Missions.  I  wrote  to 
Mr.  Woodward,  with  the  approbation  of  Mr.  Evarts,  that 
the  avails  of  my  part  of  the  engraving  were  to  be  appro 
priated  to  the  building  of  a  Bungalow,  and  the  support  of 
a  girl's  school  within  the  limits  of  his  missionary  field, 
requesting  him,  at  the  same  time,  to  select  a  site  as  nearly 


280  HANNAH     MORE. 

like  Barley  Wood  as  could  be  found,  and,  as  early  as 
possible,  to  make  the  pupils  acquainted  with  the  character 
and  works  of  Hannah  More. 

"The  school  was  accordingly  established  in  1823,  and 
the  house  has  been  used  also  as  a  place  of  public  worship 
on  the  Sabbath.  I  sent  copies  of  the  engraving  to  Mr. 
Woodward  and  also  to  Miss  More,  who  was  so  much 
pleased  with  the  plan  of  a  school  in  memory  of  her  resi 
dence,  that  she  immediately  sent  for  its  support  ten 
pounds ;  the  next  year  ten  more ;  the  year  following 
twenty,  besides  bequeathing  to  it  at  her  death  one  hundred 
pounds,  which,  together  with  the  avails  of  the  engraving, 
formed  a  fund  for  the  enlargement  and  permanent  support 
of  the  school." 

"  Barley  Wood  in  Ceylon  !"  humorously  responded  an 
old  correspondent,  the  oldest  then  living,  Sir  William 
Pepys,  to  whom  she  communicated  the  plan.  "  How  this 
will  puzzle  some  future  commentator  of  your  works  !  who 
will  find  some  obscure  tradition,  that  for  some  reason  or 
other,  most  probably  he  will  say,  for  the  laudable  purpose 
of  disseminating  religion,  our  author  took  this  long  voyage, 
and  in  commemoration  of  it,  gave  the  name  of  her  own 
residence  to  the  school,  which  she  evidently  established  in 
this  island." 


GOLDEN     HARVEST.  281 

Her  correspondence,  at  this  time,  was  extensive  and 
burdensome.  "  I  see  a  good  deal  of  company,"  she  tells  us, 
"  but  the  post  occupies  and  fatigues  me,  more  than  my 
guests.  If  you  saw  my  table  on  most  days,  you  would 
think  were  I  not  a  minister  of  state,  I  was  become,  at  least, 
a  clerk  in  a  public  office. 

"  The  mass  of  books  and  pamphlets,  which  I  have  from 
America  would  surprise  you.  I  do  not  naturally  love 
republicans,  but  these  people  appear  really  to  be  making 
such  rapid  advances,  that  they  seem  to  be  determined  to 
run  with  us  the  race  of  glory." 

The  excellent  Bishop  Chase  of  Ohio  paid  her  a  visit  in 
July  of  1824,  at  the  anniversary  of  the  Wrington  Bible 
Society,  when  with  a  party  of  seventeen  others  he  dined  at 
Barley  Wood,  still  hospitably  open  to  numerous  and  ad 
miring  guests.  The  venerable  hostess  was  unable  to  appear 
at  table,  but  she  received  the  company  in  her  own  apart 
ment,  after  dinner,  where  a  long  and  animated  conversation 
was  kept  up  for  several  hours,  in  which  she  bore  a  dis 
tinguished  part.  Her  powers  of  conversation  even  at 
seventy-nine  were  almost  unrivalled ;  so  rich,  so  eloquent, 
so  judicious,  so  appropriate.  "  You  could  not  touch  her," 
says  one,  "  without  finding  her  electrical  wit,  genius,  and 
godliness — her  speech  was  always  with  wit,  seasoned 
24* 


282  HANNAH      MORE. 

with  grace,  and  ministered  to  the  edifying  of  the  hear 
ers." 

Almost  entirely  confined  to  her  room,  the  range  or  her 
affections  is  as  wide  as  ever,  and  her  charities  continue 
to  flow,  blessing  herself  in  blessing  others. 

Besides  the  larger  appropriations  demanded  by  her 
schools,  and  the  various  missionary  and  charitable  objects 
in  which  she  took  a  deep  interest,  her  benefactions  went 
into  humbler  and  more  retired  channels ;  students  were 
aided  in  their  books  and  education,  young  clergymen  in 
purchasing  their  libraries,  and  poor  widows  in  eking  out 
their  scanty  incomes ;  twenty  guineas,  a  legacy  just  re 
ceived  from  some  dignitary  whose  name  she  had  never 
heard,  were  sent  to  Mrs.  Judson  for  the  redemption  of  two 
little  Burmah  slaves,  and  ten  pounds  were  once  sent  to 
Miss  Hannah  Adams,  at  Boston,  on  receiving  her  history 
of  the  Jews,  and  learning  that  her  efforts  were  made  in 
behalf  of  a  widowed  sister  and  aged  father." 

On  the  reception  of  one  hundred  pounds,  from  the  son 
of  Sir  William  Pepys,  who  had  for  many  years  been  in 
the  habit  of  making  her  an  almoner  of  his  bounty,  and  at 
whose  death  his  son  thus  evinced  his  reverence  for  his 
memory,  her  reply  admits  us  to  take,  as  it  were,  a  parting 
glance  at  Cheddar,  and  a  pleasant  farewell  of  the  comfort 


GOLDEN     HARVEST.  283 

and   prosperity  which,  like   the   green   grass,  is   creeping 
around  the  Mendip  Ridge. 

"  I  most  thankfully  accept  the  liberal  sum  you  so  gener 
ously  offer.  It  is  indeed  most  gratuitous  on  your  part, 
and  very  acceptable  on  mine,  as  my  schools  consist  of  six 
hundred  children,  and  the  friends  that  used  to  help  me  out 
a  little  are  dead.  I  do  not  know  if  I  ever  mentioned  to 
my  admirable  correspondent  that,  attached  to  my  schools, 
in  three  different  parishes,  I  instituted  thirty-five  years  ago 
u  female  club,  for  the  parents ^f  my  children.  I  continue 
to  give  them  an  annual  festivity,  when  every  girl  bred  in 
my  schools,  and  belonging  to  their  respective  clubs,  if  they 
have  maintained  a  virtuous  character,  receives  what  they 
•are  pleased  to  call  the  bride's  portion  of  the  club-day. 
This  envied  portion  does  not  amount  to  a  guinea ;  but  I 
think  it  has  helped  to  promote  sobriety.  I  have  the 
satisfaction  to  know,  that  by  petty  accumulations  and  long- 
perseverance,  though  the  members  of  the  club  only  sub 
scribe  sixpence  a  month,  I  shall  leave  these  poor  people 
possessed  of  nearly  two  thousand  pounds  in  the  three 
parishes.  I  have  long  since  placed  it  in  the  funds,  where 
it  is  accumulating.  I  have  put  it  in  the  trustees'  hands. 
The  club  is  now  no  further,  expense  to  me,  except  the 
annual  feast,  where  my  valuable  companion  represents  me. 


284  HANNAH     MORE. 

Since  my  inability  to  be  with  them,  to  give  it  more  credit, 
ten  neighboring  clergymen,  with  some  other  gentry,  attend, 
and  make  tea  for  the  poor  women.  I  should  not  have 
dwelt  so  long  on  this  subject,  but  as  an  instance  of  what 
perseverance  and  petty  saving  may  accomplish.  It  explains 
how  misers,  with  small  means,  grow  rich  by  petty  savings." 

There  is  something  touching  and  beautiful  in  old  age  with 
a  mind  unblighted  by  the  frosts  of  time,  and  a  heart  warm 
with  love  to  God.  Childhood  is  lovely  and  confiding,  but  its 
movements  are  the  playfuln^s  of  the  kitten,  and  the  friski- 
ness  of  the  lamb.  Youth  is  strong,  earnest,  full  of  hope  : 
it  believeth  all  things,  it  willeth  all  things.  Middle  life  is 
doubting,  doing,  cumbered  with  care,  and  anxious  about 
many  things.  But  old  age — a  good  old  age — is  confiding, 
without  being  careless ;  earnest,  without  being  wilful : 
cheerful  and  diligent,  less  anxious  for  to-day, — more  trust 
ing  for  to-morrow. 

Life  has  gone  through  the  spring  of  hope,  the  summer 
work,  the  autumn  harvest,  and  now,  though  winter  chills 
are  creeping  around  the  heart,  and  benumbing  the  limbs, 
within  is  glowing  the  heavenly  flame,  without  the  friendly 
warmth  of  human  kindness.  How  sweetly  it  leans  on  the 
unseen  arm  ;  "  When  and  whether  belong  to  Him  who 
governs  both  worlds.  I  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  trust. 


GOLDEN     HARVEST.  285 

I  bless  God,  I  enjoy  great  tranquillity  of  mind,  and  am  wil 
ling  to  depart,  and  be  with  Christ,  when  it  is  His  will, — 
but  I  leave  it  in  His  hands,  who  does  all  things  well." 
Such  is  the  language  of  Hannah  More,  with  eighty  years' 
experience  of  the  goodness  and  grace  of  Him  in  whom  she 
believed. 

How  different  is  this  from  the  language  of  one  not  long 
departed  from  the  literary  world,  of  exquisite  taste  and 
loving  heart,  yet  who  knew  not  that  peace  which  those 
have,  whose  souls  are  stayed  on  God.  "  A  new  state  of 
being  staggers  me.  Sun  and  sky,  breeze  and  solitary 
walks,  summer-holidays  and  the  greenness  of  fields,  and 
the  juices  of  meat  and  fishes,  and  society  and  the  cheerful 
glass,  and  candle-light  and  fireside  conversations,  and  jests, 
and  irony, —  do  not  these  things  go  out  with  life?  Can  a 
ghost  laugh  and  shake  his  gaunt  sides,  when  you  are 
pleasant  with  him  ?" 

Well  may  the  believer  exclaim,  "Thanks  be  to  God,  who 
giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


EVENING  shadows  were  fast  creeping  around  the  length 
ened  days  of  Hannah  More.  Her  life,  prolonged  for  be 
yond  three-score  years  and  ten,  was  slowly  and  sweetly 
ebbing,  amid  the  fragrant  lawns  and  shady  groves  of  Bar 
ley  Wood,  when  a  strange  and  unexpected  disclosure  in 
her  family  history,  drove  her  from  its  bosom,  and  com 
pelled  her  to  find  another  mooring  for  her  already  frail  and 
shattered  bark. 

The  extreme  delicacy  of  her  health  had  almost  entirely 
confined  her  to  her  chamber  for  the  last  seven  years,  and 
thus  necessarily  had  withdrawn  her  from  a  minute  inspec 
tion  of  her  household  ;  nor  could  Miss  Frowcl,  her  daily 
friend  and  companion  since  Patty's  death,  be  supposed  to 
exercise  any  very  thorough  inspection,  or  strong  influence 
over  family  servants,  old  in  the  service,  and  long  used  to 
the  ways  and  wants  of  their  mistress  :  but  Miss  More's 
kindness  and  confidence  were  alike  disregarded  and  be- 


PASSING     AWAY.  287 

trayed.  Although  trained  to  the  practice  of  every  Christian 
duty,  illustrated  by  the  brightest  examples  of  piety,  breath 
ing  an  atmosphere  of  purity  and  love,  and  pensioners  upon 
her  bounty,  her  servants  proved  false  to  her  trust,  and 
basely  betrayed  the  interests  of  their  too  indulgent  mis 
tress  :  to  fill  their  pockets,  frauds,  impositions,  and  thefts 
were  for  years  carried  on  in  her  kitchen  ;  her  chanties  had 
been  diverted  from  their  appropriate  channels,  orders  sent 
to  traders  which  were  never  issued ;  while  their  midnight 
revelries  began  to  be  the  scandal  of  the  neighborhood' 
Miss  More  heeded  not,  for  a  time,  the  hints  occasionally 
dropped  in  her  presence,  concerning  the  reports  of  her 
household,  until  at  length  they  became  unmistakably  con 
firmed  by  the  confession  of  one  of  their  number,  when  she 
felt  that  decided  measures  must  be  immediately  resorted 
to.  Two  lines  of  conduct  were  marked  out  by  her  coun 
sellors  :  one,  an  entire  change  in  the  domestic  cabinet,  and 
the  other,  a  removal  from  Barley  Wood,  to  a  situation  less 
cumbered  with  care.  After  a  short,  but  severe  struggle., 
she  chose  the  latter.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Whally  offered  her 
his  convenient  and  elegant  house  in  Windsor  Terrace,  Clif 
ton,  where  she  had  been  long  known,  and  was  greatly 
loved  ;  thither  she  concluded  to  remove. 

"I  have  been  quite  overwhelmed  by  this  heavy  blow,"  she 


288  HANNAH      MORE. 

writes  to  Miss  Roberts.  "  I  strive  and  pray  fervently  for  di 
vine  support  and  direction  ;  but  such,  is  the  variety  of  dif 
ficulties  which  await  me  the  next  month,  that  I  sink  under 
the  thought.  I  bless  God  that  I  slept  last  night,  but,  like 
the  disciples,  it  was  from  sorrow  ;  my  kind  partner  in  these 
sufferings,  Miss  Frowd,  is,  I  am  grieved  to  say,  in  bed  with 
a  severe  cold ;  this  adds  much  to  my  distress.  You  must 
indeed,  my  dear  friends,  you  must  come  and  advise  me.  I 
would  consult  you  what  gentleman  I  shall  get  to  stay  with 
me  in  the  dreaded  moment  of  separation. 

"  The  shocking  conduct  of  the  people  below,  it  seems, 
has  been  long  the  subject  of  discourse  with  the  whole  neigh 
borhood, — I  alone  was  left  in  ignorance  through  false  kind 
ness.  I  am  more  obliged  to  dear  Mr.  H than  I  can 

say ;  he  is  a  true  Christian  friend.  I  really  think  this 
shock  has  hurt  my  hearing  and  my  memory." 

The  morning  of  final  leave-taking  at  length  arrived,  a 
day  of  heavy  clouds  and  bleak  winds,  in  the  changeful 
month  of  April.  The  servants,  who,  surmising  a  change, 
had  now  gone  so  far  as  to  treat  her  with  personal  dis 
respect,  were  paid  a  quarter's  wages  in  advance,  by  their 
generous  and  forgiving  mistress,  and  forever  dismissed  from 
her  service. 

Several  gentlemen,  with  affectionate  assiduity,  came  to 


PASSING     AWAY.  289 

support  her  through  her  last  farewell  to*Barley  Wood : 
beloved  Barley  Wood  !  whose  roses  and  jessamines,  green 
hedges,  and  sylvan  bowers  had  for  twenty-seven  years 
breathed  their  fragrance,  and  flung  their  beauty  upon  her 
daily  paths  ; — Barley  Wood,  whose  walls  and  walks  were  in 
stinct  with  the  treasured  memories  of  the  past ; — Barley 
Wood,  where  the  sisters  nestled  together  in  the  mellow 
light  of  their  declining  days,  and  where,  one  by  one,  like 
the  ripened  and  yellow  grain,  they  had  been  gathered  to 
the  eternal  harvest. 

Descending  the  stairs  with  a  placid  countenance,  leaning 
upon  the  arms  of  beloved  friends,  she  was  led  into  the 
room  below,  hung  with  the  portraits  of  the  long  gone  and 
dearly  cherished ;  she  gazed  upon  them  for  a  few  moments 
in  deep  and  tearful  silence  ;  brief  and  sad  were  the  parting 
glances  on  familiar  haunts,  as  she  hurried  with  tottering 
steps  towards  the  carriage.  "  Ah,"  she  sadly  said,  "  I  am 
driven  like  Eve  from  Paradise,  but  not  by  angels." 

Her  elastic  and  thankful  spirit  was  not  slow  to  discern 
the  beauties  of  her  new  home,  which  commanded  a  bold 
and  delightful  prospect  of  Leigh  Woods  and  Nightingale 
Valley,  with  the  blue  Avon  winding  between.  Her  face 
glowed  with  delight,  as  her  dim  eye  lingered  on  the  rich 
expanse. 

25 


290  HANNAH      MORE. 

"  I  was  always,"  she  exclaimed,  "  delighted  with  fine 
scenery,  but  my  sight  of  late  years  has  been  too  dim  to 
discern  the  distant  beauties  of  the  vale  of  Wrington.  It  has 
pleased  Providence  to  ordain  me,  in  my  last  days,  a  view 
no  less  beautiful,  all  the  features  of  which  my  eye  can 
embrace." 

Miss  More's  ready  and  gentle  acquiescence  to  this  provi 
dential  ordering  of  her  affairs  gratified  her  friends,  and 
reflected  peace  and  homelikeness  throughout  her  new 
abode.  "  Clifton  is  very  pleasant,"  she  gratefully  declares ; 
"  fewer  cares  and  more  comforts."  A  few  months  after  the 
settlement  she  pleasantly  writes  to  Wilberforce :  "  I  am 
diminishing  my  worldly  cares.  I  have  sold  Barley  Wood, 
and  have  just  parted  with  the  copyright  to  Cadell  of 
those  few  of  my  writings  which  I  had  not  sold  him  before. 
I  have  exchanged  the  eight  "  pampered  minions"  for  four 
sober  servants.  I  have  greatly  lessened  my  house  expenses, 
which  enables  me  to  maintain  my  schools,  and  enlarge  my 
charities.  My  schools  alone,  with  clothing  and  rent,  cost  me 
two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  a  year.  Dear  good  Miss 
Frowd  looks  after  them,  though  we  are  removed  much  farther 
from  them.  The  Squire  of  Cheddar  attends  them  for 
almost  the  whole  of  Sunday,  and  keeps  and  sends  me  an 


PASSING     AWAY.  291 

accurate  statement  of  merits  and  wants ;  so  that  I  have 
many  comforts. 

As  I  have  sold  my  carriage  and  horses,  I  want  no 
coachman ;  as  I  have  no  garden,  I  want  no  gardener.  I 
have  two  pious  clergymen,  whom  I  call  my  chaplains,  and 
who  frequently  devote  an  evening  to  expound  and  pray 
with  my  family,  uniformly  on  Saturdays.  My  most  kind 
and  skilful  physician,  Dr.  Carrick,  who  used  to  have  twelve 
miles  to  come  to  me,  has  now  not  much  above  two  hun 
dred  yards.  As  to  your  kind  visit,  we  can  give  you  two 
beds,  and  one  for  a  female  servant ;  I  am  sorry  I  can  do  no 
more.  The  house,  though  good,  furnishes  few  conve 
niences.  We  have  no  servants  hall,  of  course,  no  second 
table  ;  but  we  are  surrounded  with  hotels,  and  lodging- 
houses,  &c.  It  is  delightful  that  we  shall  meet  once  more 
this  side  of  Jordan ;  Miss  Frowd  desires  her  best  respects. 
She  is  my  great  earthly  treasure.  She  joins  to  sincere 
piety  great  activity  and  useful  knowledge.  She  has  the 
entire  management  of  my  family,  and  manages  well.  She 
reads  well  and  reads  much  to  me.  I  have  much  more  to 
say,  and  much,  I  trust,  to  hear,  when  we  meet." 

And  thus  are  we  admitted  to  the  inner  arrangements 
of  Windsor  Terrace,  No.  4,  to  behold  the  domestic  tran 
quillity  of  this  diminished  household. 


292  HANNAH      MORE. 

But  if  Clifton  released  its  venerable  occupant  from  home 
cares,  it  opened  the  door  to  hosts  of  visitors,  whose  Sittings 
would  never  have  extended  to  "Wrington.  Her  conversa 
tional  powers,  which  charmed  the  elegant  and  polished 
circle  of  the  last  century,  still  retained  their  brilliancy  and 
freshness ;  her  liveliness  of  manner,  chastened  by  time  and 
sorrow,  was  blended  with  a  heart-warming  Christian  love, 
inspiring  both  old  and  young  with  confidence  and  affection, 
while  many  were  attracted  towards  her  by  the  world-wide 
reputation  of  her  writings  and  labors.  Nearly  four  hun 
dred  visited  her  in  the  first  three  weeks,  which  so  exhausted 
her  strength  and  consumed  her  time,  that  two  days  in  a 
week  were  set  apart  for  general  visitors,  her  "  levee  days" 
as  they  were  called ;  while  to  her  most  intimate  friends 
she  was  at  all  times  accessible. 

One  day  in  playful  mood  she  sketched  her  Court  at 
Windsor  Terrace.  "  The  Duke  of  Gloucester,  Sir  Thomas 
Aclaiid,  Sir  Edmund  Hartapp,  and  Mr.  Harford,  are  my 
sportsmen.  Mr.  Battersby,  Mr.  Pigott,  and  Mrs.  Adding- 
ton,  my  fruiterers.  Mrs.  Walker  Gray,  my  confectioner. 
Mr.  Edward  Brice,  my  fishmonger.  Dr.  Carrick,  my  state 
physician  and  zealous  friend.  Mrs.  La  Touche,  my  silk 
mercer  and  clothier.  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  my  oculist. 
Misses  Roberts,  my  counsellors,  not  solicitors,  for  they  give 


PASSING    AWAY.  293 

more  than  they  take.  Misses  David,  ray  old  friends 
and  new  neighbors.  Messrs.  Hensman  and  Elwin,  my 
spiritual  directors.  Mr.  Wilberforce,  my  guide,  philosopher 
and  friend.  Miss  Frowd,  my  domestic  chaplain,  secretary 
and  house  apothecary,  knitter,  and  lamp-lighter,  missionary 
to  my  numerous  and  learned  seminaries,  and  without  con 
troversy,  the  queen  of  clubs  (in  allusion  to  the  village 
clubs  already  mentioned).  Mr.  Huber,  my  incomparable 
translator,  who,  by  his  superiority,  puts  the  original  out  of 
countenance.  Mr.  Cadell,  accoucheur  to  the  muses,  who 
has  introduced  many  a  sad  sickly  brat  to  see  the  light,  but 
whispers  that  they  must  not  depend  on  a  long  life." 

Barley  Wood  was  sold  to  William  Harford,  Esq.,  and 
aM.  her  business  interests  were  so  adjusted,  that  no  cares 
were  left  to  harass  the  infirmities  of  that  period  of  life, 
when  the  grasshopper  becomes  a  burden. 

Five  weary  years  did  she  linger  on  the  borders  of  the 
river  of  life,  and  yet  not  weary,  for  her  heart  retained  its 
spring-like  cheerfulness  and  her  faith  its  joyful  confidence, 
even  after  the  brightness  of  her  intellect  was  obscured  by 
the  damps  and  mists  of  decaying  nature.  Repeated  attacks 
of  inflammatory  disease  in  the  region  of  the  chest  often 
brought  her  extremely  low,  from  which,  through  the  urn-e 
mitted  care  and  faithful  attentions  of  Miss  Frowd,  she 
25* 


294  HANNAH     MORE. 

again  and  again  revived,  until  the  November  of  1832, 
when  the  seizure  became  more  violent,  sadly  prostrating 
both  the  mind  and  body,  and  rendering  the  remaining  ten 
months  of  her  earthly  pilgrimage  months  of  extreme 
weakness,  of  watchful  nights  and  restless  days,  unalleviated 
by  any  hope  of  favorable  change,  except  that  which  must 
bear  the  spirit  to  its  Heavenly  Rest.  Her  pious  ejacula 
tions  were  the  utterance  of  a  soul,  ripening  for  glory. 

"  Grow  in  grace,"  she  earnestly  whispered  to  her  attend 
ants,  "  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,"  "Jesus  is  all  in  all,"  "God  of  grace,"  "God 
of  light,  God  of  light,  whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee  2" 
"  What  can  I  do  ?  what  can  I  not  do  with  Christ  ?  I 
know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,"  "  Happy,  happy  are 
these,  who  are  expecting  to  meet  in  a  better  world.  Tho 
thought  of  that  world  lifts  the  mind  above  itself.  Oh,  the 
love  of  Christ,  the  love  of  Christ !" 

Long  waiting  on  the  shores  of  Jordan,  "  My  dear,  do 
people  ever  die?"  she  said  to  her  friend.  "Oh  glorious 
grave  !  It  pleases  God  to  affect  me  for  my  good,  to  make 
me  humble  and  thankful — Lord,  I  believe,  I  do  believe  with 
all  the  powers  of  my  weak,  sinful  heart.  Lord  Jesus ! 
support  me  in  that  trying  hour,  when  I  most  need  it !  It  is 
a  glorious  thing  to  die  !" 


0  PASSING     AWAY.  295 

When  some  one  spoke  of  the  good  deeds,  which  had 
adorned  her  life,  she  quickly  replied,  "  Talk  not  so  vainly — 
I  utterly  cast  them  from  me,  and  fall  low  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross." 

Thus  she  waited,  wearily  in  the  body,  but  joyfully  in 
the  spirit,  until  the  6th  of  September,  1833.  The  usual 
family  devotions  were  attended  at  her  bedside  in  the 
morning ;  her  wasted  hands  were  devotedly  raised  in 
prayer  while  her  countenance  glowed  with  unwonted  light ; 
she  lay  all  day,  quiet  and  speaking  not,  while  ever  and 
anon  a  radiance  as  from  the  land  of  glory  illumined  her 
sunken  features.  In  the  early  night,  she  extended  her 
arms  calling  "Patty,"  as  if,  in  vision,  thi-s  last  and  dearest 
of  the  household  band  had  come  to  bid  her  welcome  to 
the  redeemed  on  high.  A  few  more  hours  and  she  sweetly 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  on  the  dawning  of  the  7th,  in  the  89th 
year  of  her  age.  Five  days  afterwards,  Miss  More's  remains 
were  conveyed  to  Wrington,  and  consigned  to  the  family 
vault  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Biddulph,  Rector  of  St.  James  at 
Bristol. 

All  the  shops  were  closed,  and  the  church-bells  tolled 
their  solemn  requiem,  as  a  long  and  mournful  procession 
followed  her  to  the  grave,  joined  at  its  arrival  at  Barley 
Wood  by  large  numbers  of  the  neighboring  gentry,  clergy, 


296  HANNAH     MORE.  0 

and  peasantry,  with  multitudes  of  little  children,  for  whose 
good,  the  departed  had  long  and  lovingly  labored  in  the 
prime  of  her  health  and  fame. 

In  the  village  church-yard,  beneath  a  yew  and  willow, 
the  traveller  beholds  a  plain  stone,  marking  the  final  rest 
ing-place  of  the  five  good  sisters,  and  bearing  the  simple 
inscription : — 

"  Beneath  are  deposited  the  mortal  remains  of  five  sis 
ters: 

Mary  More  died  18th  of  April,  1813,— aged  75  years. 
Elizabeth  More  died  16th  of  June,  1816, — aged  76  years. 
Sarah  More  died  17th  of  May,  1817, — aged  74  years. 
Martha  More  died  16th  of  September,  1819,— aged  60  yearn 
Hannah  More  died  7th  of  September,  1833, — aged  89  years. 

All  these  died  in  faith, 

Accepted  in  the  Beloved. 

Hebrews  xi.  13.     Ephesians  i.  G." 

A  handsome  fortune  had  been  accumulated  by  the  in 
dustry  and  talent  of  these  ladies,  Miss  Hannah  More  hav 
ing  realized  from  her  pen  alone,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  A  large  portion  of  it  was  bequeathed 
to  public  institutions,  whose  fortunes  and  influences  she 


PASSING     AWAY.  297 

had  long  followed  with  deep  and  hearty  interest :  among 
the  various  items  mentioned  in  her  will,  we  find  some  re 
lating  to  our  own  land,  Diocese  of  Ohio,  £200.  Books 
for  Ohio,  £50.  Newfoundland  schools,  £100.  Also  Barley 
Wood  school,  Ceylon,  £100.  Distressed  Vaudois,  £180. 
After  an  enumeration  of  seventy-one  objects,  to  which  fifty 
thousand  dollars  were  appropriated,  the  remainder  of  her 
property  was  to  be  invested  in  three  per  cent,  consols,  to 
increase  the  endowment  of  the  new  church  of  St.  Philip 
and  Jacob,  which  began  to  be  erected  in  one  of  the  desti 
tute  parishes  of  Bristol,  numbering  a  population  of  sixteen 
thousand  souls,  hitherto  without  the  public  services  of  the 
Gospel.  It  was  now  suggested  adding  a  school  to  the 
church,  which  should  bear  her  name,  and  thus  commemo 
rate  her  memory  through  an  instrumentality  which  she 
had  used  with  such  eminent  success, — teaching  the  poor. 
At  a  meeting,  holclen  in  Clifton,  on  the  October  following, 
these  resolutions  were  presented  and  adopted : — 

"  That  the  distinguished  talents  and  qualifications  of  the 
late  Miss  Hannah  Move,  consecrated  most  usefully  and  ef 
ficiently,  throughout  the  course  of  a  long  life,  to  the  noblest 
ends  of  Christian  benevolence,  have  justly  embalmed  her 
memory  in  the  public  esteem  and  veneration. 

"  That  this  meeting  is  of  opinion,  it  is  desirable  to  con- 


298  HANNAH     MOKE. 

vey  to  posterity  some  public  memorial  of  the  sentiments 
embodied  in  the  preceding  resolution. 

"  That  a  subscription  be  entered  into  for  placing  a  tablet 
to  the  memory  of  Miss  Hannah  More,  in  the  parish  church 
of  Wrington,  where  her  own  remains  and  those  of  her  four 
sisters  are  interred ;  and  should  the  sum  collected  exceed 
what  may  be  deemed  necessary  for  the  proper  execution  of 
such  purpose,  that  the  surplus  be  devoted  to  the  establish 
ment  of  a  school  (to  bear  her  name),  in  connection  with 
the  new  church  in  the  parish  of  St.  Philip  and  Jacob,  in 
Bristol,  towards  the  endowment  of  which  she  has  be 
queathed  the  residue  of  her  estate." 

Six  thousand  dollars  remained  after  the  erection  of  the 
tablet,  costing  six  hundred  dollars,  which  may  be  seen  in 
the  parish  church  at  Wrington,  bearing  this  humble  testi 
mony  to  her  worth  and  genius  : — 


PASSING     AWAY.  299 

Sacred 
to  the  memory  of 


She  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Stapleton,  near  Bristol, 

A.D.  1745,  and  died  at  Clifton,  September  7th,  A.  D.  1833. 

Endowed  with  great  intellectual  powers, 

And  early  distinguished  by  the  success 

Of  her  literary  labors, 

She  entered  the  world  under  circumstances 
Tending  to  fix  her  affections  on  its  vanities  ; 

But,  instructed  in  the  school  of  Christ 
To  form  a  just  estimate  of  the  real  end  of  human  existence, 

She  chose  the  better  part, 

And  consecrated  her  time  and  talents 

To  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good  of  her  fellow-creatures, 

In  a  life  of  practical  piety  and  diffusive  beneficence. 

Her  numerous  writings  in  support  of  religion  and  order, 

At  a  crisis  when  both  were  rudely  assailed, 
Were  equally  edifying  to  the  readers  of  all  classes, 

At  once  delighting  the  wise, 
And  instructing  the  ignorant  and  simple. 

la  the  eighty-ninth  year  of  her  age, 
Beloved  by  her  friends,  and  venerated  by  the  public, 

She  closed  her  career  of  usefulness, 

In  humble  reliance  on  the  mercies  of  God, 

Through  faith  in  the  merits  of  her  Redeemer. 

lier  mortal  remains  are  deposited  in  a  vault  in  this 

Church-yard,  which  also  contains  those  of  her  four  sisters, 

Who  resided  with  her  at  Barley  Wood,  in  this  parish,  her 

Favorite  abode,  and  who  actively  co-operated  in  her  unwearied 

Acts  of  Christian  Benevolence. 

Thus  eiideth  the  outward  life  of  Miss  Hannah  More, 


CONCLUSION. 

WE  have  played  with  her  at  Stapleton,  studied  with  her 
at  Bristol,  admired  her  at  London  ;  we  have  gone  with  her 
to  the  thoughtful  retirement  of  Cowslip  Green,  joined  the 
sisterhood  at  Barley  Wood,  visited  her  schools,  heard  her 
conversation,  beheld  her  popularity,  witnessed  her  daily  life  : 
and  now  shall  we  pass  from  the  contemplation  of  a  char 
acter  like  hers,  no  wiser,  or  better  than  before  ?  Shall  it  be 
like  a  tale  that  is  told,  quickly  fading  ?  Are  there  no  les 
sons  for  self-application  in  this  brief  sketch  ?  What  shall 
the  young  of  our  own  day  learn  from  the  light  of  her  shin 
ing  example  ? 

Much  of  the  personal  influence  which  Hannah  More  ex 
ercised  in  the  brilliant  circles  of  literary  life,  was  undoubt 
edly  owing  to  her  unrivalled  powers  of  conversation,  full  of 
wit,  sense,  and  originality  ;  to  these  were  added  a  penetra 
ting  and  sagacious  mind,  which,  with  its  thorough  knowl 
edge  of  mankind,  obtained  by  a  large  acquaintance  with 
almost  every  class  of  society,  enabled  her  to  comprehend 
the  dangers  to  which  the  English  masses  were  exposed, 


CONCLUSION.  301 

from  the  sophistries  of  French  infidelity  and  English  dema 
gogues,  and  instantly  to  seize  and  apply  an  appropriate 
remedy.  Her  tracts  and  stories  for  the  times  are  among  her 
most  remarkable  productions,  displaying  as  they  do  the 
nicest  perceptions  of  character  and  opinion ;  they  silenced  the 
murmurs  of  discontent,  and  the  doubts  of  skepticism, 
and  were  like  oil  upon  the  rising  waves  of  revolution. 

Her  first  works  upon  the  irreligious  habits  and  tendencies 
of  the  higher  classes  in  English  society,  were  character 
ized  by  clear  and  candid  statements  of  the  most  obvious 
and  reasonable  requirements  of  Christianity — statements 
uttered  with  such  discretion  and  truthfulness,  that  their  di 
rectness  could  not  offend,  even  where  it  was  least  welcome. 
They  were  read  and  pondered. 

As  she  herself  came  to  clearer  and  fuller  apprehensions  of 
truth  and  duty,  the  nature  and  importance  of  her  mission 
became  more  distinctly  revealed  :  then  followed  that  series  of 
religious  teaching,  that  plain  and  faithful  application  of  the 
principles  of  the  gospel  to  the  heart  and  life,  which  seemed 
so  powerfully  to  quicken  the  spiritual  life  of  the  church, 
and  elevate  the  standard  of  practical  piety.  Miss  More 
felt  the  moral  want  of  her  times  :  these  were  general  de 
clension  and  coldness  in  the  religious  world  ;  customs  and 
maxims  had  insensibly  stolen  upon  the  church,  which  sul- 
26 


302  HANNAH      MORE. 

lied  its  purity,  and  diminished  its  influence.  The  writings 
of  Wilberforce  and  Hannah  More,  warmed  and  enriched  by 
a  living  faith,  infused  new  life  into  dead  forms,  and  gave  to 
the  Christian  profession  a  quickened  conscience,  higher  aims, 
and  a  holier  life. 

The  intellectual  gifts  which  distinguished  Hannah  More, 
rich  and  influential  as  they  were,  formed  not  her  chief  ex 
cellence,  nor  that  perhaps  which  most  commends  itself  to 
our  reverence  and  affection.  It  was  her  solid  and  earnest 
piety  which  imparted  breadth  and  depth,  strength  and 
beauty  to  her  character,  and  made  her  influence  felt  even 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Herein  is  that  with  which  we 
have  to  do.  What  were  the  elements  of  that  faith  which 
obtained  so  good  a  report,  and  left  so  shining  an  example  ? 

Thi're  is  a  religion  of  taste,  which  admires  the  beauties 
of  this  outward  world,  and  is  awed  by  the  grandeur  of  its 
Maker.  It  is  inspired  more  by  the  book  of  nature  than  of 
revelation ;  more  by  the  natural  than  the  moral  attributes 
of  Deity ;  it  dwells  in  the  imagination,  high,  and  inacces 
sible,  apart  from  the  interests  of  common  and  familiar  ob 
jects  ;  it  seeks  solitary  places,  and  dies  amid  the  din  and 
bustle  of  noon-day  life  ;  it  shrinks  from  the  sin  and  distress 
of  the  actual,  and  sighs  for  the  good  and  beautiful  of  the 
ideal ;  it  yearns  for  the  dim  aisles  of  an  old  past,  and  would 


CONCLUSION.  303 

seek  the  aid  of  painter  and  sculptor  to  help  it  in  its  devo 
tions  ;  it  is  amiable,  tasteful,  and  full  of  reverence.  Was 
it  the  religion  of  taste  which  moulded  a  character  like 
Hannah  More's  ? 

"  I  am  a  passionate  admirer  of  whatever  is  beautiful  in 
nature,  or  exquisite  in  art,"  she  declares.  "  These  are  the 
gifts  of  God,  but  no  part  of  his  essence  ;  they  proceed  from 
God's  goodness,  and  should  kindle  our  gratitude  to  him ; 
but  I  cannot  conceive  that  the  most  enchanting  beauties 
of  nature,  or  the  most  splendid  productions  of  the  fine  arts, 
have  any  necessary  connection  with  religion.  You  will  ob 
serve  that  I  mean  the  religion  of  Christ,  not  that  of  Plato  ; 
the  religion  of  reality,  and  not  of  the  beau  ideal. 

"  Adam  sinned  in  a  garden  too  beautiful  for  us  to  have 
any  conception  of  it.  The  Israelites  selected  fair  groves 
and  pleasant  mountains  for  the  peculiar  scenes  of  their 
idolatry.  The  most  exquisite  pictures  and  statues  have 
been  produced  in  those  parts  of  Europe  where  pure  religion 
has  made  the  least  progress.  These  decorate  religion,  but 
they  neither  produce  nor  advance  it.  They  are  the  enjoy 
ments  and  refreshments  of  life,  and  very  compatible  with 
true  religion,  but  they  make  no  part  of  it.  Athens  was  at 
once  the  most  learned  and  the  most  pojished  city  in  the 
world,  so  devoted  to  the  fine  arts,  that  it  is  said  to  have 


304  HANNAH     MORE. 

contained  more  statues  than  men  ;  yet,  in  this  eloquent 
city  the  eloquent  apostle's  preaching  made  but  one  proselyte 
in  the  whole  areopagus. 

"  Nothing,  it  appears  to  me,  can  essentially  improve  the 
character,  and  benefit  society,  but  a  saving  knowledge  of 
the  distinctive  doctrines  of  Christianity.  I  mean  a  deep 
and  abiding  sense  in  the  heart  of  our  fallen  nature ;  of  our 
actual  and  personal  sinfulness ;  of  our  lost  state,  but  for  the 
redemption  wrought  for  us  by  Jesus  Christ ;  and  of  our 
universal  necessity,  and  the  conviction  that  this  change 
alone  can  be  effected  by  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
This  is  not  a  splendid,  but  it  is  a  saving  religion  ;  it  is 
humbling  now,  that  it  may  be  elevating  •  hereafter.  It  ap 
pears  to  me  also,  that  the  requisition  which  the  Christian 
religion  makes  of  the  most  highly  gifted,  as  well  as  of  the 
most  meanly  endowed,  is,  that  after  the  loftiest  and  most 
successful  exercise  of  the  most  brilliant  talents,  the  favored 
possessor  should  lay  his  talents  and  himself  at  the  foot  of 
the  cross,  with  the  same  deep  self-abasement  and  self- 
renunciation  as  his  more  illiterate  neighbor,  and  this  from 

n  / 

a  conviction  of  who  it  is  that  hath  made  them  to 
differ." 

Again,  there  is«a  fashionable  religion,  priding  itself  upon 
orthodox  doctrines,  but  lax  enough  in  orthodox  practice  ;  it 


CONCLUSION.  305 

is  trifling*,  irresponsible,  and  florid,  mixed  up  with  frivolity 
and  worldliness ;  enjoyment  is  the  measure  of  duty ;  it 
seeks  only  to  be  pleased,  not  instructed,  and  in  the  pursuit 
has  contracted  habits  which  have  proved  snares,  and  im 
bibed  tastes  which  have  weakened  and  debased  its  princi 
ples.  How  is  it  rebuked  by  the  strong  language  of  earnest 
piety  and  a  living  faith  ! 

"  We  must  avoid,"  says  Hannah  More,  "  as  much  as  in 
us  lies  all  such  society,  all  such  amusements,  all  such 
tempers,  which  it  is  the  daily  business  of  a  Christian  to 
subdue,  and  all  those  feelings,  which  it  is  his  constant  duty 
to  suppress.  Some  things  which  are  apparently  innocent, 
and  do  not  assume  an  alarming  aspect,  or  bear  a  dangerous 
character ;  things  which  the  generality  of  decorous  people 
affirm  (how  truly  we  know  not)  to  be  safe  for  them ;  yet 
if  we  find  that  these  things  stir  up  in  us  improper  propen 
sities  ;  if  they  awaken  thoughts  which  ought  not  to  be 
excited ;  if  they  abate  our  love  for  religious  exercises,  or 
infringe  on  our  time  for  performing  them  ;  if  they  make 
spiritual  concerns  appear  insipid ;  if  they  wind  our  heart  a 
little  more  about  the  world  ;  in  short,  if  we  have  formerly 
found  them  injurious  to  our  own  souls,  then  let  no  example 
or  persuasion,  no  belief  of  their  alleged  innocence,  no  plea 
of  their  perfect  safety,  tempt  us  to  indulge  in  them.  It 

24* 


306  11  ANN  AH     MORE. 

matters  little  to  our  security  what  they  are  to  others.  Our 
business  is  with  ourselves.  Our  responsibility  is  on  our 
own  heads.  Others  cannot  know  the  side  on  which  we  are 
assailable.  Let  our  own  unbiased  judgment  determine  our 
opinion,  let  our  own  experience  decide  for  our  own  conduct. 
"  As  our  kind  of  reading  has  much  to  do  with  the  forma 
tion  of  our  religious  character,  and  the  fostering  of  corrupt 
or  correct  tastes,  we  cannot  forbear  noticing  that  very 
prevalent  sort  of  reading,  which  is  little  less  productive  of 
evil,  little  less  prejudicial  to  moral  and  mental  improve 
ment,  than  that  which  carries  a  more  formidable  appear 
ance.  We  cannot  confine  our  censure  to  those  more 
corrupt  writings  which  deprave  the  heart,  debauch  the 
imagination,  and  poison  the  principles.  Of  these  the  turpi 
tude  is  so  obvious,  that  no  caution  on  this  head,  it  is  pre 
sumed,  can  be  necessary.  But  if  justice  forbids  us  to  con 
found  the  insipid  with  the  mischievous,  the  idle  with  the 
vicious,  and  the  frivolous  with  the  profligate,  still  we  can 
only  admit  of  shades,  deep  shades  we  allow,  of  difference. 
These  works,  if  comparatively  harmless,  yet  debase  the 
taste,  slacken  the  intellectual  nerve,  let  down  the  under 
standing,  set  the  fancy  loose,  and  send  it  gadding  among 
low  and  mean  objects.  They  not  only  run  away  with  the 
time  which  should  be  given  to  better  things,  but  gradually 


CONCLUSION.  307 

destroy  all  taste  for  better  things.  They  sink  the  mind  to 
their  own  standard,  and  give  it  a  sluggish  reluctance,  we 
had  almost  said,  a  moral  Incapacity  for  everything  above 
their  level.  The  mind,  by  long  habit  of  stooping,  loses  its 
erectness,  and  yields  to  its  degradation.  It  becomes  so 
low  and  narrow  by  the  littleness  of  the  things  which  engage 
it,  that  it  requires  a  painful  effort  to  lift  itself  high  enough, 
or  to  open  itself  wide  enough  to  embrace  great  and  noble 
objects.  The  appetite  is  vitiated.  Excess,  instead  of  pro 
ducing  a  surfeit,  by  weakening  the  digestion,  only  induces 
a  loathing  for  stronger  nourishment.  The  faculties  which 
might  have  been  expanding  in  works  of  science,  or  soaring 
in  the  contemplation  of  genius,  become  satisfied  with  the 
impertinences  of  the  most  ordinary  fiction,  lose  their  relish 
for  the  severity  of  truth,  the  elegance  of  taste,  and  the 
soberness  of  religion.  Lulled  in  the  torpor  of  repose,  the 
intellect  dozes,  and  enjoys  in  its  walking  dream, 

All  the  wild  trash  of  sleep,  without  the  rest. 

"  In  avoiding  books  which  excite  the  passions,  it  would 
seem  strange  to  include  even  some  devotional  works.  Yet 
such  as  merely  kindle  warm  feelings,  are  not  always  the 
safest.  Let  us  rather  prefer  those,  which,  while  they  tend 
to  raise  a  devotional  spirit,  awaken  the  affections  without 


308  HANNAH     MORE. 

disordering  them  ;  which,  while  they  elevate  the  desires, 
purify  them  ;  which  show  us  our  own  nature,  and  lay  open 
its  corruptions.  Such  as  show  ns  the  malignity  of  sin,  the 
deceitfulness  of  our  hearts,  the  feebleness  of  our  best  resolu 
tions  ;  such  as  teach  us  to  pull  off  the  mask  from  the 
fairest  appearances,  and  discover  every  hiding-place,  where 
some  lurking  evil  would  conceal  itself;  such  as  show  us 
not  what  we  appear  to  others,  but  what  we  really  are ; 
such  as  co-operating  with  our  interior  feelings  and  showing 
us  our  natural  state,  point  out  our  absolute  need  of  a 
Redeemer,  lead  us  to  seek  to  him  for  pardon  from  a 
conviction  that  there  is  no  other  refuge,  no  other  salvation. 
Let  us  be  conversant  with  such  writings  as  teach  us,  that 
while  we  long  to  obtain  the  remission  of  our  transgressions, 
we  must  not  desire  the  remission  of  our  duties." 

"  A  life  devoted  to  trifles,"  she  again  says,  "  not  only 
takes  away  the  inclination  but  the  capacity  for  higher 
pursuits.  The  truths  of  Christianity  have  scarcely  more 
influence  on  a  frivolous  than  on  a  profligate  character.  If 
the  mind  be  so  absorbed,  not  merely  with  what  is  vicious, 
but  with  what  is  useless,  as  to  be  thoroughly  disinclined  to 
the  activities  of  a  life  of  piety,  it  matters  little  what  the 
cause  is  which  so  disinclines  it.  If  these  habits  cannot  be 
accused  of  great  moral  evil,  yet  it  argues  a  low  state  of 


CONCLUSION.  309 

mind ;  that  a  being  who  has  an  eternity  at  stake  can 
abandon  itself  to  trivial  pursuits.  If  the  great  concern  of 
life  cannot  be  secured  without  habitual  watchfulness,  how  is 
it  to  be  secured  by  habitual  carelessness,  it  will  afford 
little  comfort  to  the  trifler,  when  at  the  last  reckoning  he 
gives  in  his  long  negative  catalogue,  that  the  more  ostensi 
ble  offender  was  worse  employed.  The  trifler  will  not  be 
weighed  in  the  scale  with  the  profligate,  but  in  the  balance 
of  the  sanctuary." 

Are  there  not  many,  who  may  well  take  heed  ?  Remem 
ber  how  much  is  implied  in  your  Christian  profession  ; 
what  interests,  both  for  time  and  for  eternity,  are  at  stake. 
Will  you  be  content  with  the  "beggarly  elements"  of  a 
worldly  religion,  when  God  demands  a  holy  life  ? 

Still  farther :  earnest  piety  prevents  that  skepticism,  which 
is  liable  to  creep  into  the  soul  at  a  certain  stage  in  tho 
religious  experience,  and  which  if  not  expelled  chills  and 
corrodes  the  faith,  until  one  has  only  a  name  to  live. 
Have  you  not  known  many,  who  entered  upon  the  religious 
life  with  the  fairest  promise?  How  lovely  was  the  first 
blossoming  of  piety  !  what  prayers  were  offered  for  their 
continuance  in  well-doing !  what  hopes  were  entertained  of 
their  usefulness !  Time  elapses,  and  alas  !  how  is  the  fine 
gold  become  dim.  They  have  lost  their  confidence  ;  they 


310  HANNAH      MORE. 

see  no  use  in  that  wherein  they  once  delighted  ;  their  love 
is  cold,  their  faith  is  low,  their  hands  are  feeble  :  they  are 
weary,  discouraged,  faint-hearted. 

Why  this  folding  of  the  hands,  this  feebleness  of  the 
faith?  Amid  the  first  exercises  of  the  renewed  soul,  the 
work  of  a  Christian  life  is  beheld  through  the  bright 
medium  of  joy  and  hope :  there  is  no  account  laid  with 
remaining  corruptions  within,  and  discouragements  and 
trial  from  without ;  believing  all  things,  hoping  all  things, 
the  warfare  is  begun.  What  various  hindrances  beset  the 
way !  what  disappointments  chill  his  heart !  what  sins 
still  clog  the  soul !  He  may  have  learned  to  labor,  but  not 
to  wait :  while  planting  the  seed  he  looked  for  the  harvest. 
This  forms  the  great  crisis  in  the  religious  life,  when  in  the 
waning  light  of  our  first  love  to  God,  we  first  fully  realize 
all  which  that  love  demands  :  when  the  ardor  of  feeling  is 
to  be  replaced  by  the  steadfastness  of  principle  :  when  the 
life  that  has  been  given  us,  no  longer  dependant  upon  the 
nurture  of  Christian  friends,  must  henceforth  depend  upon 
ourselves — our  watchfulness,  our  labors,  our  care,  must 
alone  nourish  it,  strengthen  it,  and  bring  it  to  the  stature 
of  a  perfect  man  in  Christ  Jesus.  From  this  day  of  labor 
and  of  trial,  alas  !  how  many  shrink ; — who  is  sufficient  for 
these  things  ?  cries  the  fainting  believer. 


CONCLUSION.  311 

"  I  can  do  all  things,  through  Christ  strengthening 
me" — responds  a  living  faith,  which  bears  the  soul  through 
its  doubts  arid  fears,  and  teaches  that  hardest,  last  learned 
lesson,  yet  dearest  and  best  of  all,  that  in  yielding  a  willing 
obedience  to  God,  and  striving  to  do,  He  will  work  in  us 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure — Christ 
in  man. 

This  is  the  substance  of  an  earnest  piety :  of  a  working, 
saving,  living  faith,  beautifully  and  impressively  illustrated 
in  the  life  and  labors  of  Hannah  More. 

Who  is  striving  after  it  ?  who  will  go  and  do  likewise  ? 


THE     END. 


14  DAY  USE 

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